AN ODE TO A GREAT SOUL

V.SUNDARAM I.A.S.

SRI SWAMI SATCHIDANANDA(1914-2002)

In the ultimate analysis what marks a great man is the spiritual climate he cre­ates in his own soul; it is that repeated, almost uninterrupted, exercise which con­ditions his instincts and attitudes, his feel­ings, thoughts and actions, and finally his aura, that personal emanation which reaches out in ever-widening circles to in­spire and to move his fellow men, even after his death. One such great soul was Sri Swami Satchidananda who passed away in Chennai City on 19-8-2002.


He was born on December 22nd 1914 as the son of a wealthy landowner of Chettipalayam village near Coimbatore. His father was Kalyanasundaram Gounder. Ramaswamy as he was christened in his Poorvashrama, pursued highly skilled op­erations like working in the automobile companies, operating workshop machines and supervising factories. His great skill in copper welding first got him a job in the welding unit at a chemical factory in Nilgiris where he did not stay for long. G D Naidu, who was known as the 'Automobile King of Coimbatore' came to know of the ex­traordinary skill of Ramaswamy as a cop­per welder. So, he invited him to join his National Electric Works (NEW) as a Welder. Ramaswamy got married and af­ter the birth of two boys suffered the griev­ous misfortune of the demise of his wife. This was the turning point in his life. He took his children to his mother in Chettipalayam village. Leaving them in her safe custody, he embarked on an unknown and uncharted spiritual voyage of self-dis­covery and self-realization. After spending a few years in Palani and Madras, he fi­nally reached the Sivananda Ashram at Rishikesh where his Guru Swami Sivananda Saraswathi initiated him to Sanyasa and gave him the name Satchidananda. His Holiness Swami Sivananda sent him to Sri Lanka with au­thority to set up a branch of the Divine Life Society at Kandy. In Kandy Sri Satchidananda became a mighty and powerful spiritual force gathering around him many devotees and disciples. Many Sri Lankans rushed to him to learn Yoga. Conrad Rooks, an American movie-maker, also came to learn Yoga. A few weeks stay with Sri Swami Satchidananda convinced Conrad Rooks that Sri Swami Satchidananda had a definite role to play in the west. On his invitation, in the late 1960's Sri.Swami Satchidananda went to Paris and from there to USA, where the great painter Peter Max, an associate of Conrad Rooks was his host. Finding him­self then in the midst of an exploding Ameri­can landscape---raked with drugs, politics, revolutionary change, the quest for salva­tion and personal identity---he agreed to stay in America.


Both Rooks and Max helped him to es­tablish the Integral Yoga Institutes first at New York and later at Connecticut. Within a few years His Holiness sold the Connecticut property and bought the present property of 750 acres at Yogaville, Virginia, where the headquarters of the In­tegral Yoga Institutes was established.
1986 saw the inauguration of the LOTUS temple dedicated to the Light Of All Faiths The Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (LO­TUS). This is a unique shrine where people of all faiths from all countries can silently meditate according to their individual tra­ditions. Different faiths like Hinduism, Judaism, Shintism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, African Re­ligions and Native American Religions have separate altars in the Lotus Temple.

LOTUS TEMPLE (Yogaville, Virginia)

This shrine is built in the shape of a Lotus Flower. The ascending light in the sanctu­ary at the upper level of the shrine is beau­tiful. This column of Light rises from the central altar to the top of the dome where it divides into individual rays to illuminate the ten altars set within each petal of the LOTUS. Each major faith is represented by an altar on which rests a carved inscrip­tion about LIGHT (Jyothi) from the sacred scripture of that faith.

At the time of the inauguration of the LO­TUS Temple on July 21st /22nd 1986, His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda said: "The inauguration of this Lotus Temple was indeed begun earlier than the offi­cial ritual with the blessings of ARUT PRAKASHA VALLALAR (1823-1874) of Vadalur in South Arcot District (now Cuddalore District) in Tamil Nadu". From this it will be clear that great sages like Arut Prakash Vallalar continue to speak across centuries in a live manner. The ce­lestial orbits, the fiery sun, the gyrations of earth and moon are not more inexorable than the dedication of a great human be­ing, man, woman and child, to his chosen way. For, indeed, as the compelling direc­tion or purpose stretches into the future, so by the same token it is continuous with the past--an initial propulsion which was present already at birth gives the infant a life-direction.

Sri.Swami Satchinanda was a world spiri­tual teacher, and Guru of the students of Integral Yoga. He wanted his disciples to dedicate themselves to his ecumenical movement, his motto being "Truth is One, Paths Are Many". In response to public invitations from all parts of the world, he travelled widely. Through every possible medium, lectures, conferences, radio, tele­vision and newspaper interviews, books and visits to centres around the world, he shared his knowledge in the field of edu­cation, religion, health and yoga.

Sri.Swami Satchinanda was a prolific writer. He wrote many books on Yoga and Spiritual practice. I am presenting below the front cover of one of his most popular books titled ‘The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’.

COVER OF BOOK

This valuable book provides a complete manual for the study and practice of Raja Yoga, the path of concentration and meditation. The classic Sutras (thought-threads), are at least 4,000 years old and are the core text of yoga covering ethics, meditation, physical postures, and provide directions for dealing with situations in daily life. Sri Swamiji offers practical advice, based on his own experience, for mastering the mind and achieving physical, mental and emotional harmony.


Swami Satchidananda observed: "Tapas means to burn yourself---your body, your mind, your intellect---in order to cleanse them, to purify them. Just as you burn dirt to convert into pure ash, so also all the impurities should get burnt by the fire of purity in the practice of Tapas. It means austerity, the accep­tance of hardship and pain. The highest of Tapas is giving pleasure and joy to others while accepting pain for yourself." He was indeed in the long and unbroken chain of great Saints and Sages of India going back to the dawn of Indian history. His was indeed a life of love, light and com­passion, guided and governed by Sanatana Dharma and Vedic Knowledge.

In conclusion I would quote the irreplaceable words of Dr.S.Radhakrishnan: “Spiritual life is the true genius of India. Those who make the greatest appeal to the Indian mind are not the military conquerors, not the rich merchants or the great diplomats, but the holy sages, the Rishis who embody spirituality at its finest and purest. India’s pride is that almost in every generation and in every part of the country, from the time of her recorded history, she has produced those Holy Men who embody for her all that the country holds most dear and sacred”. Sri.Swami Satchidananda belonged to this great and holy tradition.

A SANSKRIT SCHOLAR PAR EXCELLENCE
V.SUNDARAM I.A.S.

                           Mahamahopadyaya Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri,
                                                               (1886-1964)

The gifts of the spirit rise superior to all other gifts. Poets and philosophers, proph­ets and seers, inspired men of religion and leaders of thought, scholars and savants, discoverers and teachers of new truth--such persons are entitled to the respect and hom­age of men more than those whose achievements and services have been on the materials plane only. Like Dr. U.V. Swaminatha lyer, in the field of Tamil studies and Tamil literature, Mahamahopadyaya Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri, Professor of Sanskrit at Calcutta University from 1917 to 1947, was a monumental Sanskrit scholar who made Himalayan and timeless contribution to Sanskrit literature, particu­larly in the field of Advaita philosophy in which he was acknowledged as a living authority throughout India. Government of India honoured him with the title of `Mahamahopadyaya'. He not only wrote extensively on Advaita philosophy but also practised it with remarkable verve, devo­tion and dedication in his own private life. Towards the end of his life; he embraced `Apathsanyasa' renouncing his 'Poorva Ashramam' and became known as Advaita Ananda Saraswathi Swami.

Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri was born in March 1886 at Noorni in Palghat town. His father was Subramania Vadyar, son of Ramaswami Vadyar the Chief purohit of that village. His mother's name was Laxmi. His father was a great scholar in Dharma Sastras. Many villages in Palghat district in the last quarter of the 19th century were great centres of classical Sanskrit learn­ing. William Logan who was Collector of Malabar in the 1880's and who lives !n his­tory as the author of Malabar Manual paid tribute to the enlightened Brahmins of Palghat district in the following words: 'What after 'all has been the goal of all modern legislation, but, as Bentham's great dictum puts it­: 'The greatest possible happiness of the greatest number'. To anyone who chooses to study the his­tory of the Brahmins in Palghat District, it will become apparent that the race had advanced far towards the attainment of this modern aim, and this too, and it is all the more remarkable on that account, was the state of affairs among a people who I would like to describe as a Hindu community of the purest type."
No wonder Palghat District produced sev­eral outstanding Sanskrit scholars in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. Chittur M. Ramanatha Shastri, Shekaripuram S.K. Ramanatha Shastri, Mimasa Kesari Ramanathapuram R. Subramania Shastri, Shekaripuram S.K. Padmanabha Shastri, Peruvamba Bhramashri P .R. Subramania Shastri and Cochin V. A Ramanatha Shastri were some of the great Sanskrit scholars of this period. In this galaxy of outstanding Sanskrit scholars, Mahamahopadyaya Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri shone like a pole star.A brief history of his scholastic and teaching career can now be told. In 1899 he joined the Vedashastra Pattasala of Chitoor (in Cochin State). After studying the Vedas and Sanskrit literature upto the fourth class, he left the Chitoor Pattasala to pursue further stud­ies at the Pattasala at Chidambaram in February 1904. In the Chidambaram Pattasala he studied Vyakarana (Sabdarantharthana) and Prakarana Granthas in Tarkashastra under the famous Sanskrit scholar Sriman Harihara Sastrigal of Srimushnam till 1906. Soon thereafter he joined the Sanskrit Col­lege at Madras in the Vedanta Group. In his spare time he also paid attention to the study of Mimamsa and Dharmashastras.In December 1910 he contested in a competition in Advaita Sabha of Kalahasthi and was honoured with a `Thoda' and shawls in appreciation of his dialectic skills. Consequent upon this distinction he was appointed as the First Assistant in the Sanskrit College at Tiupati in 1911.


During his tenure in the Sanskrit College at Tirupati he took special initiative to edit and publish several unpublished manuscripts which gave him national prominence. The following are some of the original works and texts edited during his stay at Tirupati:1. Vivaha-Samaya Mimamsa
2. Abdhiyana Nirnaya
3. Chatus of Brahama-sutra with Bashya, Bhamati, Kalpataru and Parimala, exhaustive notes and introduction.
4. Introduction to Shastradipika
5.Complete Bhrama-Sutra-Bhashya with Shamti, Kalpataru and Parimala, with topical notes and enlarged introduction.
6. Shastradipika with Sambhubhattiya.
7. An original work called Mimamsa Shastra Samgraha.In May 1917 he assumed charge as Principal of a Sanskrit College newly started by the Taluk Board of Shermadevi at Kalladaikurichi in Tirunelveli District. But he served there only 3 months upto 10 August 1917.


The great turning point in his life was his meeting with Sir Ashutosh Mookerji, legendary Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University, at Tirupati in 1917. Sir Ashutosh Mookerji was overwhelmed by the Himalayan scholarship of Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri and appointed him as Professor of Sanskrit in Calcutta University 1917. He served in Calcutta University for 30 years from 1917 to 1947, teaching mostly M.A. classes and guiding students in Post Graduate Doctoral studies. He was also an examiner for Sanskrit in various universities like Calcutta, Benaras, Allahabad and Patna etc. !n this context it is of great historical interest to note that it was Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee who had discovered the genius of Sir. C.V. Raman whom he invited to join Calcutta University in the first decade of his century. It was also Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee who had invited Sarvapalli Radhkrishnan to join Calcutta University.What is little known is the fact that it was Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee who invited the attention of Lord Curzon the Viceroy of India, to the legal and judicial brilliance of Sir. P.S.Shivaswami lyer of Madras in 1900. It was indeed an age of intellectual giants and genuine scholarship. Men of learriing were nationally respected despite linguistic bar­riers unlike today. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan was a colleague of Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri in Calcutta University during this period and wrote the forword .to a number of books edited and written by Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri.During his tenure in Calcutta University Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri wrote and published the following works:
1. Advaita-Chinta-Kausthubha
2. .Karma-Pradeepa with his own com­mentary named Prabha .
3. Vedanta-Paribhasha wtth his own com­mentary- 2 volumes
4. Sanathana-Dharma-Pradeepa contain­.Ing about 1,600 pages in 2 Volumes.
5. Advaita-dipika-2 volumes '
6) Advaita-Marthanda
7) Vedanta-Rakshamani-2 Volumes
8) Brahma-Sutra-Bhashaya with 9 com­mentaries, one of which Pradipa being his own in 2 volumes
9) Advaita-Siddhi with 5 commentaries
10) Saugandhya Vimarsa and Chaturgranthi; his original works
11} Numerous original articles contributed as founder and editor of ttie Sanskrit Sahitya. Parishad Patrika, a monthly jour­nal, from Calcutta.


He was closely associated with the activi­ties of Bengal; Assam, Bihar, Orissa and Mysore Sanskrit Associations for several years.
In 1948 he joined the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bombay, founded by K M Munshi, as Principal of the Githa Vidyalaya and Vachaspatya Course. Later he served as Hohorary Professor of Sanskrit in Benaras Hindu University. During this period, he published a book named Bhagavad Gita Bharatiya Darshani Cha (Gita and Indian Philosophies). During his stay in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan he also prepared an original work on the six Puranas and sent them to His Highness the Maharaja of Benaras for publication. He elicited and collected the opinions of Dharmacharyas of Bombay and Madras about the possibility of reconversion based on the Dharma Shastra with regard to the victims of Noakhali.


The pinnacle of his intellectual achievement was the publication of his highly original and provocative work called 'Satha Bhushani' ---a polemical work on Advaita Vedanta in an­swer to the numerous criticisms levelled against the doctrine of Advaita by Sri Vedanta Desika in his 'Satha Dhushani'.

Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri was the recipient of many awards and titles. He was made an Associate Member of the Royal Asiatic Society. He was awarded the title Mahomahapadhyaya by the Government of India. Sringeri Shankaracharya Sri Chandrashekara Saraswathi conferred on him the title of Shastraratnakara Satabhushani. Shankaracharya of Puri gave him the title of Sarvatantra Swathanthra. In 1961 President Rajendra Prasad gave him the President's Gold Medal for Sanskrit.
President Babu Rajendra Prasad used to invite him almost every year to Rashtrapathi Bhavan during the Dusherra festival to hear his spiritual and religious discourses. Babu Rajendra Prasad was indeed captivated by the Vedic learning and intellectual prowess of Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri.Apart from being a great scholar and writer he was also, a tireless worker in the field of practical propagation of Sanathana Dharma. He actively associated himself with organisations like the Hindu Mahasabha, the Brahmana Maha Sammelan, the Arya Samaj and All-India Vidwat Sammelan of Madras, Bombay, Belgaum etc.He also participated in a Hindu Satyagraha in Pandaripur. In his personal spiritual life he gave cubic con­tent to the words of Romain Roland 'Thought without action is an abortion and a treachery and thought in order to justify itself must lead to action'.


Noorni Ananthakrishna Shastri seems to have had a premonition re­garding his death. On the 15th of Novem­ber 1964, after completing his daily poojas, at 11.10 am he entered what is known as Apatsanyasa and passed away at 12.20 pm the same day. So lived and passed away­ this great soul, who devoted his whole lifetime to the study of Hindu Philosophy and Sanskrit literature. His life and achieve­ments will live and abide with us all as a cherished possession, a sweet and radiant presence, to be bequeathed as a treasure to coming generations.


What is, his life's message to, all of us today? Though, he passed away at Noorni village in Palghat in 1964, yet he seems to whisper into our ears all the time the fol­lowing inspiring words:


‘'When I survey the life of India during the last 3000 years and bear in mind our litera­ture, traditions and ideals, the searchings of our philosophers, and the work of our artists, the music of our sons and daughters, and the nobility of the Hindu religion we have evolved and when from these elements I form in my mind a picture of an ideal India and an ideal earthly life. l confess it is difficult for me to imagine a more powerful source of inspi­ration, a deeper- well of truth to draw upon'.

The Chimera of 'Secularism’

V.SUNDARAM I.A.S.

Freedom of worship is one of the fundamental freedoms in our democracy. It is postulated in the Preamble to our Constitution and several Ar­ticles define the scope and extent of the right. We are a people with deep religious moorings. At the same time, we have a living tradition of religious tolerance---the result of the broad outlook of Hinduism that all religions lead to the same God. It was this tradition that had largely brought about a happy coexistence between the different religious groups in the country for centuries. .


No doubt the forces of secularism, socialism and science in post independent India have released our people from the clutches of meaningless tradition of superstitions, but at the same time they have created in them a certain moral, cultural and spiritual vacuum that has not been filled by any other meaningful substitute.


The violent distur­bances of law and order that are taking place all over the country at present even at the slightest provocation bear ample testimony to this trend. The remedy to cure this malady lies in the proper understanding of Hindu religion and culture.


Our religion, with a long unbroken tradition of philosophy, culture and meaningful rituals, brings about a certain discipline which touches our conscience and helps us to struggle against evil and sordidness, saves us from greed, lust and hatred, releases moral power and imparts to us courage in the enterprise of fighting for a better social order. This discipline implies the submitting of our thinking and conduct to the truths of the spirit and the generation of a binding force that deepens the solidarity of human society.


Hindu Religion is not to be associated with the meaningless dogmas and creeds, rights and ceremo­nies which may repel many of us, but with the deep­est wisdom of the ancient seers of the Sanatana Dharma, which can safely guide us through the bewildering chaos of modern thought.


This Religion is to be associated with that ancient wisdom of ours which is international in feeling and intention and which by virtue of its vi­tality, has affected men of all races and has been able to survive political and social changes through the ages, and which must remain forever even while other achievements of man may change or perish from time to time.


When we talk of Hindu religion and secularism, we have to remember that Hindu religion is not in any way opposed to secularism. They are, on the other hand, closely interrelated. Indian secularism is not alien to Indian culture, despite the mischievous and vicious attempts of several politicians and irresponsible journalists in recent years to prove it to the contrary. Indian secularism is part and parcel of HIndu culture. In modern India, 'Secularism’ has been converted into a mischievous slogan by unscrupulous politicians and their paid and kept journalistic lackeys.


The concept of Secularism as it is commonly understood today is a force contrary to moral and spiritual values. Secularism is capable o1 three distinct meanings. They may be called. A) Spiritual; B) Rational, C) Materialistic. There is a common ground for all these interpretations. It is that in the political and economic life of India, parties and policies and loyalties should not be based upon religion but should cut across religions and be based on the objective of maximum National Welfare. While this may appear to be satisfactory for practical administrative purposes, yet the more fundamental approach towards secular­ism has to rest on more solid spiritual foundations which only in the long run will have a decisive wholesome impact on national outlook and behaviour.


The spiritual interpretation, of secularism is that all religions spring from the primary human crav­ing to understand and feel God or the infinite in which the entire universe in general and man in particular has his being. Therefore it is far more important that one should recognise and feel its presence than the manner in which it should be named, described and worshipped.


Hence the truly spiritual human being will re­spect all religions while clinging to his own. He will not allow differences of religion to come in the way of fullest cooperation in those fields where reason and science should prevail. This in essence was Gandhiji's view on secularism. Gandhiji’s view was derived from the traditions of Sanatana Dharma.


According to the rationalistic view of secular­ism, religion is essentially irrational and super­stitious and it should be progressively eliminated through scientific education. Till then It should be prevented by all possible means from intrud­ing into the social, political, economic and cul­tural life of the people. It should be strictly rel­egated to the home for the present and ultimately expelled from that refuge also. In trying to prevent the intrusion of religion into national and public affairs, coercion and physi­cal force should be avoided to the extent possi­ble, but wherever necessary the help of coer­cive legislation may be taken. This has been the policy of the Congress Party under the leader­ship of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.


According to the materialistic interpretation bf secularism (Karl Marx?), religion is essentially an evil and has been the instrument of enslaving the masses by the oppressive and exploitive classes. Therefore it is nec­essary to suppress it by organised propaganda if possible and by force if necessary.


In India, except for the small number of Communists, the general public opinion is vaguely di­vided between the first two interpretations.


Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the rationalist meaning of secularism has come to prevail generally among the politicians and the Union and State government have during the last fifty years tried to function as if religions did not exist in India or at least they should not be given any quarter or recognition unless they came under the category and label of ‘minority faiths', like Christianity and Islam.


Any religion or faith coming under the category 'minority faith/religion' becomes automatically 'secular' and ‘cosmopolitan'. Applying this thumb rule, 'Hinduism' by the virtue of the fact that it is the faith of the majority, becomes automatically a 'communal and non-secular' faith.
Nehru's anti-Hindu agnostic materialistic and rationalistic thinking had a disastrous, impact on the philosophy and working of several academic institution's established by Gov­ernment of India like the Indian Council of Histori­cal Research (ICHR), Institute of Advanced Stud­ies (IAS), Simla, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) etc. All these institutions were fully loaded and packed with Marxist intellectuals who were all inducted as part of 'Nehru Rojgar Jobbery Programme'.


As Arun Shourie brilliantly puts it: ‘These intel­lectuals and their patrons have worked a diabolic inversion. The inclusive religion, the pluralist spir­itual search of our people and land, they have projected­ as intolerant, narrow-minded, obscurantist, and the exclusivist, totalitarian, ­revelatory religions and ideologies --- Islam, Christianity, Marxism-Leninism --- they have made out to be the epitomes of tolerance, open-mindedness, democracy and secularism.'


In India today, in the name of 'secularism', anti­ religious forces sponsored by so-called ‘secular' humanism or communism, condemn religious pi­ety, particularly and only in the majority community. In its name privileged ‘minorities’ of Islam and Christianity are immune from such attention and have succeeded in getting their de­mands, however, unreasonable accepted by the Government all the time. In its name again, politicians in power adopt a strange attitude which, while it condones the religious and social susceptibilities, of the minorities, is only too ready to brand similar susceptibilities in the ma­jority community as communal reactionary and fascist.


The blatant misuse of this word 'secularism­’ continues unhindered, uninhibited and unchallenged. Whenever Sanskrit, the bond of unity, is given its due place in our language formula, the majority is blamed whenever and wherever there is a communal clash, regardless of the merits of the question. If our places of pilgrimage like Benaras, Mathura, Dwaraka, Haridwar, Rishikesh etc. continue to be converted into secular slums through mindless enforcement of pernicious, unimaginative and soulless government policies, then the springs of traditional tolerance of the ages will soon dry up in different parts of India.


I am convinced that this distorted view of secu­larism has been at the root of deterioration in the standards of probity, decency, decorum, dignity integrity and honesty in all walks of national life in India. I think it is also at the root of the general frustration and discontent among all sections of our people and more particularly the youth. It is certainly possible for a rational agnostic to be a highly moral and responsible person,


But for. a people whose moral life derives its strength essentially, from the ancient Hindu religion, indifference to the latter inevitably means the de­cay of the former. This unnatural bifurcation of the spheres of life into the secular and the spiritual has had its deleterious effect on the minds of men in India. It has tended to slacken moral standards in the name of efficiency and expediency.

It has worked for a colourless anaemic religion to which men pay lip homage. We have created generation of men and women who are smart, superficial, trim and alert, but have no moral earnestness or love of truth. Our knowledge is diffuse, directionless and we are all distraught in mind and tired in body and listless in our manner. W have given up strife against lusts of the flesh, and rationalised it with the help of the behaviourist psychology of Freud and others from the West.


In our behaviour, there is an increased insensibility and a frightening decrease of civility, de­cency and sense of jus­tice. We just shift and drift and erect defence machines to hide our real nature. All this is the result of dethronement of faith and the enthronement of 'Sham Secularism' of post independent In­dia. The only way out is a call back to religion and the influence of re­ligion not only in individual but also in pub­lic life.


Mahatma Gandhi who in his speeches and writings preached that politics, to be use­ful or popular or true, must be founded on religion. He stood for the spiritualization of politics. He had found politics in the rut of Western materialism and opportunism and he wanted to save it from the low estate into Which it had fallen. 'Back to religion' was his exhortation. And India today mustlisten to his call, if it is to save not only its soul but its body, that is, its physical well ­being. Great and eminent men like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita, Anne Besant, Shri. Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi have all passionately underlined the man-making, soul-elevating and nation building impact of Hinduism through the age on the people of India.


Mahatma Gandhi probably had Marxist intellectuals like Jyothi Basu, and other Communists in mind when he observed 'Rationalists are admirable beings; rationalism is a hideous monster when it claims for itself omnipotence. Attribution of Omnipotence of Reason is as bad a piece of idolatry as is the worship of stones believing them to be God. I do not plead for the suppression of reason but for the recognition of that in us which sanctifies reason’.


Especially as a means and instrument of national integration, religion will prove, more dependable than 'secularism'. Religion holds people together, while secularism is divi­sive; religion is construc­tive, while secularism is destructive; religion inspires while Secularism criticizes, religion builds while secularism dissolves; religion unites the people while secularism makes people look at one another with doubt if not suspicion.


True and positive secularism derived from the timeless Hindu culture of India­ should keep all religions in India at peace. It should care for spirituality so intensely as to validate every pathway to God without any hindrance.


Dr S. Radhakrishnan dealt a dastardly blow to all the self-styled pseudo practitioners of `secularism’ in India today (our unscrupulous politicians and our ill-informed journalists etc) when he rightly observed: `The ideal of secularism means the we abandon the inhumanity of fanaticism, and give up the futile hatred of others and other faiths’.


In a truly secular state, there will be the true spirit of religion, and the environment necessary for the development of a gentle &and considerate way of life'. Are we going to brave enough, wise enough and mature enough to accept this great challenge of the future?


I would conclude in the words of Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877-1947): “When I survey the life of India-during the last 3,000 years and bear in mind her literature, tradition and ideals, the searchings of her philosophers, and the work of her artists, the music of her sons and daughters, and the nobility of the religion they have evolved and when from these elements I form in my mind a picture of an ideal India and an ideal earthly life, I confess it is difficult for me to imagine a more powerful source of inspiration or a deeper well of truth to draw upon.”


The tragedy of the Hindu nation in India today is that Government of India --- starting from the days of Nehru till Dr Manmohan Singh today --- want the Indian Nation to be raised upon the barbarous cultural foundation laid by the Islamic marauders like Mir Quasim, Mhommad of Ghazni, Mohammad Ghori, Kutubuddin, Iltutmish, Balban, Allauddin Khalji, Mohammad Bin Tughlaq, Taimur, Sikkandar Lodi, Ibrahim Lodi, Babbar, Humayun, Sher Shah Suri, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jehan, Aurangazeb, Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali.


Apart from the above mentioned "compassionate Islamic invaders", the Government of India under the evangelical stranglehold of that anti-Hindu Roman Catholic dictator from Italy would like the Hindu nation to be handed over on a platter to the Pope in Rome so that his Christian missionaries can carryout their mega conversion programme of “harvesting” the maximum number of “pagan Hindu” souls with out any let or hindrance, without any mercy or scruple of conscience. The Union surrogate Cabinet has been packed with carefully selected Christians, crypto-Christians and other Sonia toadies to take this massive conversion programme to its logical conclusion.