Yuva Bharati, Voice of Youth, July 2010 issue

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Invocation

A n Nt s <s ar s muÔt ar -

n aEk aiy t a_y a<g ué É i ´ da_y am!,

v Er aGy s aè aJ y dp & j n a_y am!

n maen m> ï Ig ué p aÊk a_y am!.

anantasaà särasamudratära-

naukäyitäbhyäà gurubhaktidäbhyäm|

vairägyasämräjyadapåjanäbhyäm

namo namaù çrégurupädukäbhyäm| |

My prostration to holy sandals of my guru, which serve as the boat to cross this

endless ocean of samsara, which endow me with devotion to Guru and whichgrace with the valuable dominion of renunciation.

Yuva bharati - July 2010 2



Editorial

3 Yuva bharati - July 2010

The history of every country is nothing

but a vivid detail of individual's

brilliance. It talks about sacrifice,

valour, victory, defeat; all these are meant to be

lessons for the present. History is replete with stories of peop le braving odd s and

succeeding in bringing peace and victory. We read with great reverence about ou r h eroes.But m ere app reciations won't suffice. Great lives are lived for them to be emu lated. Only

then as a society we can move forward. H istory of our country is d ifferent from the history

of others. While the history of other count ries is full of valorou s kings, their conquests an d

grand achievements, our history showcases not just Kings and Warriors but man y Guru s

wh o have shaped our nation and gu ided it through turbu lent times. Right from the

Mahabh arata times up to ou r recent freedom struggle, we find man y Guru s showing the

right path for the rulers and holding the society on good stead. Ou r books say that Guru is

one wh o removes darkness of ignorance and brings in light of awaren ess. In the present

situation when w e lament abou t corrup tion and n epotism, subversion and secession, wesurely need a Gu ru to bail us out of this troubled times. A society will be compelled to

invent sup er heroes only when it is bereft of any real heroes. We have m any h eroes whose

life and messages w ill inspire us to overcome the obstacles. But w e will be blind if we don't

see them even at these crucial hours. The present dangers lurking in the form of religious

fund amentalism and isms which are inimical to Hind u culture hav e to be faced with su ch

divine inspirations. Swam i Vivekanand a remind ed ou r N ation it's long forgotten role in

giving spiritual light to the entire hu man ity. When th e Parliament of Religions convened in

September 1893, Swami Vivekanand a created a sensa tion. While other d elegates spoke of

their own faiths and creeds, Vivekanand a spoke of the God of all, the source and essence of every faith. His call for religious ha rmony an d acceptance of all religions brough t him great

acclaim. Unlike people w ho h ad earlier visited west, he had no ap ologies for the state of his

A l ig h t t h r o u g h

t h e t u n n el




country. He was not one wh o would d well on the weaknesses. His confidence and p ride

for his country instilled self-respect and esteem for our countrymen. It helped them to

regain their identity. It also helped to overcome the stereotypes and deep -rooted prejud ices

about India in Westerners' mind s. Another ideal of our nation, renun ciation and selfless

service was also refurbished by Swami Vivekanand a as he exhorted ou r p eople to wake u pfrom their slumber to serve others. Perhaps it is a divine plan that we get reminded of

ourselves and our role by the great souls like Swami Vivekanand a. Swam i Vivekanand a

emp hasised that edu cation shou ld reach everybody and if the masses are not in a position

to go to the schools, then the schools shou ld reach out to them. But th e edu cation w hich he

was insisting was not just the information packed present day education which has

succeeded in creating zombies. He called for an ed ucation which wou ld open the mind of

an ind ividu al. 'Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in m an' said Swam i

Vivekananda and by that he meant that the hidden light should be expressed.

'Manifestation' indicates spontaneous grow th, provided that th e imped iments, if any, areremoved . Courage, wisdom, and a Dharm ic mind is the 'Z' security for a common m an.

These virtues wh ich are latent w ill be brough t out only by su ch an edu cation. A society

fortified by such values can stand against any threat. Along w ith our academic education

we must feed Swami Vivekananda's thoughts, which enable this manifestation, to our

Youths. Man y more Aurobind os, Gand his, Savarkars, Tilaks, Bharathiyar s, and Nived itas

are waiting for this transformation. Leaders of such hu e are need ed for ou r N ation's second

freedom struggle.



App le changed the way mu sic indu stry

functions when it provided i-Pod

which essentially focuses on the

individual experience and provides only a

platform w ith dynam ic connectivity. The result

is that you can create a music playlist that is

un iquely you. Your tas te that changes

dynam ically w ith your m oods and fluctuations

and even outside weather can make that play

list in your i-Pod change.

The digital platform has become respon sive to

and hence an organic part of your experiential

context. No longer are you a passive recipient

but an active creator along with i-Pod.

According to C.K.Prahalad and Venkat

Ramaswamy wh o d iscovered co-creation this

shift of value to experiences of the individual

has transformed the market into becoming a

“forum for conversation and interactions

between consumers, consumer communities,

and f i rms. I t i s this dialogue, access ,

transparency, and understanding of risk-

benefits that is central to the next practice in

value creation.” This then is the future of

prod uction marketing and consumption.

And wh at does that Ayurved ic physician in the

remote village of South India have to do with

co-creation?

Anyone w ho has consulted th e local Ayurved ic

ph ysician w ould know that he or she does not

have a prescribed body of medicines for a

specific disease. What (s)he offers you would be

a package that includes a sp ecific type diet and

diet restriction along w ith specific combinationof herbal formulation and for a specific time

span. The whole process is transparent and

simple and happens right in the front of your

eyes in most cases. This package is not imp osed

upon the patient from the encapsulated

knowledge-base of the physician but rather it

evolves through the conversation and perhaps

a long period of interaction spanning even

decades that the p hysician has w ith the patient.

The package as it evolves wou ld even take into

account the weather. In fact unconsciously theph ysician and the healer co-create that package.

That is not wha t an allopathic doctor does. The

med ical knowledge as w ell the ph armaceutical

companies which produce the medicines are

hidd en from the patient. He p assively accepts

the medicines. He can clarify doubts like a

stud ent but he cannot co-create. The doctor is a

ver i table sky-god in white coat . Thus

embedded in the very nature of Indic

traditional knowledge system is the feature

called co-creation wh ich tod ay is poised to take

over the corpor ate wor ld of digital technologies

as their futu re.

Apple I-pod and Ayurvedicphysician in my village

S.Aravindh

C.K.Prahlad

Eco Dharma




But like the unpredictable state of the

legendary Schrödinger's cat today Ayurved a is

threatening to go either way. Ayurvedic

corporate houses have sprung up which

prov ide Ayurved ic tablets in attractive foils and

syrups in stand ardized bottles. In other w ords

they are trying to straightjacket Ayurved a into

the white coat of Allopathic system. This

'corporatization' of Ayurved a caters essentially

to the whimsical needs of a minor section of

urban popu lation.

Here again C.K.Prahalad can help Ayurveda

redefine its future. His famous book “The

fortune at th e bottom of the pyramid” speaks of

how at the bottom of the society there exists a

huge u ntapp ed market w hich are in d ire needof solutions from the grip of dehumanizing

poverty. He p oints to viable mod els that h ave

worked with this sector like the Jaipur foot

movement for the amputees of developing

world and Arvind Eye Hospital which has

transformed itself into world class service

organization. Possibilities for production of

wealth coupled with social equity abound at

the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) In a

hum orous vein Prahalad u sed to say how he

would redefine the famous E=mc2: Equity =

mar ket x co-creation.

Its

Ayurved ic system is not an exotic secret eastern

science as has been made out by some of its

pop ularisers in the west. Ayurved ic health sp as

that p oor and the midd le class can only glimp se

at from well outside their compound walls is

only a fraction of its real nature or even m ay be

a mu tant travesty of the great system. On the

other han d Ayurveda is a highly localized, de-

centralized, cost-effective health solution thateven today caters to the medical needs of vast

majority of the billion Indians. It is highly

diverse like every aspect of Hindu culture.

canonical books continue to get p roduced and

evolve through localized know ledge-bases and

changing social environments. Thus it is not

just the m arket and the needs that are present at

BOP. That space called BOP also has an

untapped dynamic practical wisdom that

needs appropriate structures to be made into

monetary wealth produ cers.

The same goes for the local food systems w hich

have been harmonized with the local climes

and p opu lations of the specific areas. Even the

way people greet for festivals have innovative

possibilities at local levels. For examp le du ring

the Tamil H indu festival of Karthika (Pleiades)

the greetings take the form of aromatic leaves

enveloping a sweet-rice cookies. Today wehave Cokes and Colas of imp orted kinds w ith

burgers and Pizzas denying us choices and

destroying the local culinary diversity.

Trad itional festivals simp ly linger like traces of

faint memories. Pongal used to produce

glittering calendar art again unique to the

divinities of Tamil soil. Today Pongal greeting

cards which as I remember people of all

economic strata used to buy and send have

been completely wiped out by multinational

card companies which cater to an urban

minority for English speaking de-rooted

species of Ind ians.

Prahalad's look at BOP thus teems with

possibilities which if innovative Indic minds,

rather than multinational companies take up,

can transform India into a great wealth

prod ucer in the holistic sense of the term and a

leading light for develop ing countries. Perhaps

that can also be the true tribute we p ay to his

memory w hich w e assigned to the sidelines of

our newspaper headlines dominated by ugly

IPL controversies.

We are not only ignor ing the

fortunes of many dimensions at BOP. We are

destroying it w ith a vengean ce ap ing the West.




vidences show that the different

segments of the Indian economyEremained very active since the earlier

periods. Apart from agriculture, India was

widely known for her crafts, high quality

manu facturing, business and trade. Writing on

the industrial situation that prevailed more

than 2300 years ago, Basham noted that 'the

basis of ancient Indian ind ustry w as individual

craftsman aided by the members of his ownfamily, though th ere were larger manu facturers

also'. While narrating the situation in the

eighteenth century Agarwala notes: “A large

proportion of the Indian population was

engaged in various industries up to the firstth

decade of the 19 century. Weaving was still

national industry of the people; millions of

wom en eked ou t their family income and their

earnings from spinning. Dyeing, tanning and

working in metals also gave employment to

millions.” It seems that significant p roportionsof people remained involved in industrial,

t r ade and serv ice sec tors , apar t f rom

agriculture and related activities.

In this connection it is imp ortant to u nd erstand

that the Ind ian tradition accorded the highest

pr iority to self- emp loyment. More than five

thousand years ago, sage Vidura emph asized

in his teachings that self employment was the

best status in life. Hence venturing in to

something on one's own or getting engaged in

family occupation was considered as the most

preferable vocation in life.

S e l f e m p l o y m e n t s y s t e m h a s s e v e r a l

advantages and is a unique feature of the

Indian economy. It gives freedom to the

individual concerned as one is not under the

control of any body. It provides adequate

opportunities for those who want to work

independently. People with original ideas can

try them and undertake new er efforts. Self -

employment seems to be an ideal one in man y

ways, as it avoids the negative effects of both

the popular economic systems. In the market

system, significant sections of the working

class might not get adequ ate remun eration for

their toil or even op portun ities to w ork, while

Cult ure of Self -employment in India

P.Kanagasabapathi

PROSPEROUS INDIA – 3




the communist system does not properly

recognize entrepreneurship and initiatives. At

the macro level,

Self emp loyment system d oes

not mean that all activities

remain on a smaller scale.

Even in the earlier periods

there were big businessmen.

M o r e o v e r , t h e r e w e r e

different types of business

organizations such as pani and srnei, which

were partnership and corporate forms of

organizations. Evidences indicate that these

forms of organizations were known to have

existed at least 2800 years ago.

One major reason for the sustenance of theIndian economic system over thousands of

years could probably be her self-employment

base and the culture of many people (and

families) directly involved in managing their

vocations. Even continued invasions and the

resultant disturbances for hundreds of years

could not destroy the economy. Also the

continuou s involvements of sections of peop le

in selected vocations over generations have

enabled them to specialize in their activities

and design suitable systems to make sup erioroutpu t. But the subsequent dom ination of the

British and the colonial rule destroyed the

native arrangements, resulting in serious

the contemporary market

s y s t e m w i t h m e g a

c o r p o r a t i o n s t r i e s t o

exploit people at every

single opportunity, while

the communis t system

den ies people choices and

opportunities resulting in

r e s t r i c t i n g t h e b a s i c

freedom to grow.

damage to the economy an d society. Millions of

families had to m ove away from their vocations

due to the destruction of the agricultural,

manufacturing, trade and

serv ice activities.

As a result when the country

got independ ence, more than

three fourth of the p opu lation

was d ependent on land based

activities. With their new

found political freedom and

t h e b u r d e n o f h i s t o r y ,

different groups of people

started moving to newer

vocations, and as a result

millions of initiatives have

been taking place du ring the

last sixty years. Till the

globalization process started

impacting the home made

arrangements in the system a few years back,

going for jobs and working under somebody

was considered low in status among many

Indian communit ies . Even today doing

something on one's own or getting engaged in

the case of family business is considered as a

superior way of life in different parts of thecountry. It may be pertinent to note here that

people with educational and professional

backgrounds are slowly venturing to set up

own in itiatives du ring the recent years.

The balance is shared bythe governm ent an d the corporate sectors. Also

the self employment sector provides the

maximum employment opportuni t ies to

It was estimated that the self emp loyment

sector contribute about 35 percent to the

GDP of Ind ia, the largest share. Along with

agriculture, the total contribution of the

self –emp loyed segment w ould be abou t 55

per cent of output.




people. Project OASIS Repor t 1999 submitted

to the Government of India stated that of the

total working population, 15.2 percent were

regular salaried employees, while over 53

pe r cen t we r e s e l f - em p l oyed . W e can

u n d e r s t a n d t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f s e l f -

employment in India when we note that the

self-employed rates in richer parts of the wor ld

are very low, while their salaried populations

remain higher. In the US for examp le, the share

of self-employed category was only 6.6 per

cent, as against the share of private w aged an d

salaried wor kers wh o constituted 78.5 per cent.

The 62nd rou nd of the Na tional Samp le Survey

O r g a n i s a t i o n ( N S S O ) r e p o r t o n t h eemployment situation of India in 2005-06

reinforced the fact that Indians prefer self-

employment. The number of self-employed

people were high, both in rural and urban areas

of the coun try. The sur vey revealed tha t in rural

India, more than half of all workers were self-

employed, 57 per cent among m ales and nearly

62 per cent am ong females. The correspond ing

figu res for ur ban Ind ia were 42 for male and 44

for female.

The self emp loyed sector is a self mad e one that

does not depend on the governments .

Moreover this sector is the breeding groun d for

future enterprises. The major business and

industrial centres of the country today were

once the initiatives of a few entrep reneu rs from

this category. In this respect it is pertinent to

note tha t this sector has p layed a significant role

in laying the foundation for the growth of

Indian economy after independ ence.

Self - employed sector has been instru men tal in

creating millions of enterprises over all these

years. Econom ic Census 2005 (Governmen t of

India) states th at 41.83 million establishments

were functioning in the u norganized sector as

smaller un its. Of them, more than 70 percent of

the total number of enterprises was own-

account enterprises. The Third Census of the

Small Scale Ind ustries had estimated th at there

were 1, 05, 21,190 units in the SSI category.

Abou t 95.8 percent of them w ere foun d to be of

the proprietary type, with 10.11 percent of the

un its managed by wom en. There were more

than 2000 clusters in th e country w ith hun dreds

of enterprises belonging to the small, medium

and even corporate units in each of them.

Generally, a venture begu n w ith the initiative of

one or two entrepreneurs spearheads the

formation of clusters.

The economic developm ent of different regions

and states has been driven by the self-

employed sections.

Hero Honda, one of their group

companies, is the largest manufacturer of motor cycles in the world. The economically

advanced states of India such as Gujarat, Tamil

Nad u and Punjab have many w ell performing

indu strial and business centres, initiated by the

self-employed segm ents a few decades back.

Though the self employment based sectors

have had to face continuou s challenges du e to

the apathetic attitud e of the ru ling sections and

have undergone changes over the years, they

still remain the basis of Indian economy andbusiness. They play their role silently and

steadily, withou t many of u s even realising it. It

In many cases, the

initiatives of the self- employed sector at

the local levels grow into small, medium

and big enterprises. What was started as a

small cycle shop a few decades ago has

grown to be the well known Hero Group

today.




is the culture of self-employment, nurtured by

the family and cultural traditions of the

country, wh ich has been helping Ind ia to grow

and emerge as a powerful economy at the

global level.

References

1. Basham, A.L., The Wonder that was

India, Rupa and Co., New Delhi, 2001

2. National Sample Survey Organisationnd

report, 62 round, Govt. of India

3. Project OASIS Report 1999, Govt. of

India

4. Third All India Census of Small Scale

Ind us tries 2001-02, Govt. of Ind ia, 2004

5. US Bureau of Census – Share of

different categories of workers in US in

2000

Multitude counts for nothing. A few

hearts—whole, sincere, and energeticmen can do more in a year, t han a mob ina century.




he r iver Saraswat i has been an

enchanting mythological memory an d aTthrilling h istorical mystery an d of late an

unnecessary political controversy. However

can this river be rescued from su ch unw anted

controversies and returned to its rightful placeas an eye-opened for the depth and extent of

our civilizational past, our knowledge of it or

our ignorance?

The book 'The Lost River: On the trail of the

Sarasw ati' by Michel Danino, does exactly that

and much more. The book is a scientific

odyssey into the past that still flows in our veins

as our culture and w hose deep wellsprings may

be running down under the desert beds and

p a l e o - c h a n n e l s t h a t e x t e n d f r o m t h e

Himalayan valleys to the north-westerncoastline of Ind ia.

The part one of the book has some very

interesting maps belonging to the colonial

period painstakingly collected by Danino. For

examp le there is the 1862 British map of India

where a tributary to Ghaggar is labeled

'Soorsutty' i.e. Sarsuti. (p.20) Contrary to the

popular misconception that the modern day

discovery of Saraswati starts with the satellite

p h o t o g r a p h y , D a n i n o d o c u m e n t s h o w

Saraswati was a vivid m emory in localized oral

traditions of rural Rajasthan and how colonialBritish cartographers traced a dried river bed

which they invariably considered as the lost

r i ve r Sa r a s wa t i . Thus Dan i no quo t e s

C . F . O l d h a m

who c l a i m ed

that the course

of the 'lost river'

had now been

traced from the

Himalayas to

t h e R a n n o f

Kutch and the

accounts given

b y

Mahabharatha

a n d V e d a s

“were p robably

both of them

correct at the

p e r i o d s t o

which they referred” (p.34)

Then Danino moves through the Vedic

literature to the maze of mythological lore

searching for clues on th e geological history as

well as geograph ical spread of the river. Vishnu

Purana curiously does not mention her;

Markand eya Purana does and in the same way

as the famous Vedic river hym n d oes. Padm a

Purana mentions an all consuming fire in

connection with Saraswati. Danino speculates

aloud if this all consuming fire could actually

be the mythologized memory of an actual

drought that engulfed the whole area (p 44)Danino also ploughs through epigraphic data

and even quoted an Islamic source, as late as

fifteenth centu ry Tarijh-i-Muba rak Shahi w hich

Book Review

The Lost River –On t het rail of t he Sarasvat i

Michel Danino,

Penguin Books, 2010

Price: Rs 399/-

Pages: 357




testifies to the existence of Saraswati (p.46)

He then seamlessly moves to the modern

research that is being d one in search of the r iver.

In this exciting phase of the book Danino

explains lucidly how Satellite pictures and

studies of tectonics revealed seismic factors

that changed the history of a river and gave

birth to mythologies that a nation would

preserve for millenn ia to come. This scientific

thriller starts with the famou s 'Remote Sensing

of the 'Lost' Sarasvati River' p aper by Yashp al et

al Danino conclud es:

Ove r a l l t he I SRO s t udy

confirms the existence of

numerous paleochannels and

proposes the most l ikely

courses for the Sarasvati – notas neat as the single line we see

on many maps (including

m i n e ) . I t i s a w e l c o m e

reminder of the complexity of

the region's histor y. (p.72)

The scientific search for Sarasw ati has a m ulti-

disciplinary approach. In the north-western

part of Jaisalmer district BARC scientists

discover that the groundwater there is not a

static water table but a subterraneous flow

wh ose stable isotope content compared to that

of Himalayan rivers with absence of anymod ern recharge. An isotopic confirmation of a

myth ological river now u nfolds in the pages. A

1999 study again showed that in the Jaisalmer

region d espite some of the tubew ells had been

in use for up to forty years, their output was

stable and there was no sign of water table

receding. Danino recalls with wonder the

words of Mahabharatha “invisible current

throu gh the bow els of the earth” (p.75)

Then Danino takes on a grand archeological

tour th rough the Saraswati-Sindhu civilization

which has often been presented in our

dilapidated textbooks through certain yester-

century photographs and line drawings of

select features. However in the tour taken by

Danino we are shown the exciting new

discoveries of the latest archeological

excavation s. Fire temple in Banwali (p.157), a

tiled floor in Kalibangan (p.160), Lothal's hu ge

baked -brick basin with artist imp ression of the

same (pp.162-3) , rock-cut reservoir a t

Dholavitra… all these throw up a new w orld

before our eyes. The photos even in black and

wh ite are so beautiful and excite our interest in

the subject. The author has got them from

Archeological Survey of India which begs the

question why our textbooks could never do

that. Here is a side note. In p ost-independ ent

India the famous historian K.M.Panikkar w rote

a note to Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime

Minister of India asking him to sanction

explorations of Archeological Survey of India

in “the desert area in Bikaner and Jaisalmer

through wh ich ancient Saraswati flowed intothe Gulf of Kutch at one time” and Nehru

sanctioned the project. (p.135)

Danino's own thesis backed by archeological

and geological data u nfolds n ow in the book.

Saraswati river played an imp ortant part in the

evolution and later a critical transformation of

what is called the Harappan culture which

should be more aptly called Saraswati-Sindhu

culture. The modern Indian culture has strong

cu l t u r a l con t i nu i t y wi t h t h i s r i ve r i ne

civilization. Like the dynamic water of the

Himalayan river still runn ing und er the desertsof Rajasthan nourishing people there, the

cu l t u r a l - s p i r i t ua l con t i nu i t y wi t h t he

Saraswati-Indus culture sustains in ways we

know not consciously. What is that gigantic

event (or was that a gradual change like the

centuries prolonged global warming we face

today) that triggered th e critical transformation

of the river? Danino simp ly expand s before us a

sheet of data : seven stud ies that point to an arid

environment during the mature Harappan

ph ase and seven stud ies pointing to the wetter

environments. Whatever may be the cause

which the geological sleuths will tell us in the

future, drau ghts or floods, Saraswati played an

important role. Perhaps her 'Vinasanna'

prod uced severe droughts in some places and




produced floods elsewhere as her branches

shifted. A river changed its course and perhaps

went und erground and a material civilization

collapsed but its spiritual culture sustained a

people who spread over the entire landscape

that is now kn own as India and in their memory

she remained both as a river and as a God dess.

And as Danino concludes She becomes a

metaph or for the eternal rebirth.

This is a book which may not be for the

beginners for wh om one could suggest

Danino's 'Invasion that Never was'. But for

anyone w ho is interested in the ancient Ind ian

history, on the way science combines with

anc ien t h i s tory to inves t iga te anc ien t

mysteries, how a holistic multi-disciplinary

app roach can open up new vistas into our ow n

past and throw light on our present, this book is

a mu st. Danino has d one w onderful service to

popularizing ancient Indian history and

brining the fruits of the sun-basked labors of

India archeologists to lay public. He deserves to

be complimented and thanked for this

won derful book.

Corrections

In the June 2010 Yuvabharati the Heading for Book Review should read

Gita for Everyday living and not as printed. Ed.

With Best Compliments from :

Partner

Dealers in : Glass Mirrors

No.3, Iyya Pillai Street, (Devarajan Street)

Chennai-600 003.

Phone : 2535 6829, 2535 0714E-mail : [email protected]

A.Kishore Kumar

SHREE DURGA AGENCIES




Linguistic Intelligence

Even a cursory look at the placement

scenario in professional colleges makes it

amply clear that all corporations today

e m p h a s i z e t h e n e e d f o r g o o d

communication skills and they prefer

recruits with better commu nication skills in

English.

Comm un ication skill has

a great impact on our

i n t e r p e r s o n a l

relationships.

It is an interesting fact that great spiritual

leaders like Swami Vivekananda were

A person

wh o can commu nicate

effectively and clearly

is less likely to createcommunication gaps

which lead to serious

misunders tand ings .

Good communication

skills and proficiency

in many languages

improves one's reach

amongst peers and

enhances one's social

a c c e p t a n c e a n d

prestige.

masters of the art of communication. India's

rich literary and oral heritage is yet another

illustration of this point; our forefathers

understood the significance of developing

linguistic intelligence.

The study an d practice

o f m u s i c w a s

considered as a sacred

form of worship in

I n d i a n t r a d i t i o n -

N a a d o p a s a n a .

Perhaps, music is the

most beautiful facet of

hu man civilization.

Sri Ramakrishna was

particularly fond of

Swami Vivekananda's

melodious voice and

his sou lful singing. Sri

Ramakrishna would

a t t a i n Sam adh i on

listening to devotional

music.

I often come across stud ents wh o are add icted

to music. Many of them turn out to be class

toppers! They listen to their favourite music

Mu sical Intelligence

Signif icance of Personalit y Developmentfor a St udent

– Pramod Kumar




even th e night before their semester exams! We

do n ot need an expert in mu sic therapy to tell

us th is obvious fact that m usic not only relaxes

the mind but also brings about far reaching

physiological and neurological changes in the

body-mind complex over a p eriod of time.

How do you measure a person's level of

emotional maturity and growth? Primarily by

the w ay he cond ucts himself in civilized society

and the treatment he accords to others.

Corporations today emphasize again on

relationship skills which are considered

critically imp ortant for an individua l to rise in

the h ierarchy of the organization. A CEO w ith

poor relationship skills is either a n on-existent

oxymoron or a d isaster for the organization.

All religious values are centred on building

relationship skills on the basis of a spiritual

understanding of what connects one human

being to another.

“The essence of religion is to be good and do

good to others,” said Swam i Vivekananda . The

Mahabharata declares Ahimsa to be the

greatest dharma because the rishis perceived

that all life is interconnected. You cannot harm

others without h arming you rself.

If this profound truth is impressed upon our

students from a young age, there will not be

mu ch need for all the fuss we h ear about value

education today.

Interperson al Intelligence

Many social or national

e v i l s l i k e co r r u p t i o n o r c a s t e

discrimination are resu lts of a lifestyle thatseeks personal aggrand isement a t the cost

of and complete indifference to the p light

of our fellow hu man beings.

If only our education gives greater

weightage to building relationship skills

among st stud ents, the India of our d reams

wou ld not h ave to wait for the year 2020.

Intraperson al Intelligence

Logical Mathematical Intelligen ce (IQ)

Conventional psychology would look down

upon an introvert as a person with poor

relationship skills. Not today. Howard

Gardner and new schools of thought have

begun to understand the reason why Indians

give such respect to Mun is and Yogis who

withdraw from the world. An introvert who

spends much time trying to understand his

deeper self will also become capable of

understanding others from a compassionate

viewpoint.

Intrapersonal Intelligence is the new marker

developed to give due weightage to this

i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t o f o u r p e r s o n a l i t y

development and grooming. A person who

runs aw ay from his own self all the wh ile trying

to substitute his inner vacuum with external

pu rsuits or superficial relationsh ips is head ingfor a crisis.

The extrovert's sense of identity an d esteem is

highly dependent on others' views of his

personality. An introvert is a person who is

striving to arrive at a state where he can feel

good or be content w ithout having to seek an

external confirm ation of his w ell-being.

Development of Logica l Mathemat ica l

Intelligence is often given disproportional

weightage in the development of a student's




personality. While IQ does play a significant

role in the life of every hu man being, what was

perhaps overlooked till recently was that IQ

alone does not make a person comp lete nor is it

the only parameter for measuring a person's

potential for success or happiness in life. A

person with a poor IQ may be more than

compensated by a high em otional intelligence.

This is the reason why we see many school

d r opou t s becom i ng h i gh l y s ucce s s f u l

entrepreneurs in India where as many IIM

gradu ates disappear into oblivion after getting

an M BA degree!

We know through Swami Vivekananda's

writings that he considered two things to be of

great importance in personality development:

a) Preference to the 'Heart' over the 'Head' b)

The role of the Guru in shaping a student's

personality and the importance of living in the

proximity of the Guru or Gu rugrihavasa.

Conclusion

Swamiji's views based on Vedantic wisdom

have stood the test of time. All that is

destru ctive in hu man civilization is a result of a

sharp brain with an undeveloped heart.

Human civilization suffers from an excess of

mater ialistic IQ devoid of EQ and SQ. And the

o n l y p l a c e w h e r e a s t u d e n t c a n b e

systematically trained to nu rtu re his EQ & SQ

is at the gurukula under the supervision of a

wise master.

As a teacher, perhap s it would be self-righteous

on my part to claim that a teacher plays the

most vital role in a stud ent's personal growth.

But, as a stu den t of the school of life, I cann ot

bu t reiterate this eternal law – only a spark can

ignite another spark, only life can inspire

anoth er life.

Modern schools of thought like the Multiple

Intelligence model discussed here further

validate the wisdom that Vedantic knowledge

and tradition have bequeathed to us through

Atmavidya and the Guru p arampara.

1.Look not back, no, not even if you see the dearest and

nearest cry. Look not back, but forward.

2.The greatest truths are the simplest things in the

world, simple as your own existence.




It was not Shivaji's personality but his

vision and his values was what Deccan

fought for. They imbibed that vision and

made it their own. After that, they were not

fighting for their hero, they were fighting for

themselves. The secret of why people simplyrefused to surrender to Mughal power can be

found not in Shivaji's heroics, but somewhere

else. The secret lies in th e reforms he b rough t.

During the short span of his governance,

Shivaji brought a man ifold of reforms. For the

purpose of discussion, I will divide them into

four categories. Governance reforms, political

reforms, defense reforms and social reforms.

Governance reforms deserve first attention.

After the coronation, Shivaji pu t in p lace fullyfunctioning governance consisting of Ashta-

Pradhan (eight ministers). These eight men

were noted statesmen in their era. They laid

found ation of form al economic policy, foreign

policy and other functions of governm ent.

One key aspect differentiated Shivaji 's

governance through ministers from the

prevailing “watan and jahagir” type of

governance – division of work based on

function rather than geography. To put in

management terms, this was “horizontal

decentralization” where each minister was

responsible for only on e function, say judiciary

branch, but was responsible for the entire

empire. This was

much better than

v e r t i c a l

decentralization of

“watan” system, where one person would be

nam ed in charge of all affairs of a small region.Horizontal decentralization helped keep

un iformity across the whole empire and m ade

it easy for people to migrate, do business, and

remain on e political entity. Also wh en d ivided

this way, different branches of government

keep check on each other and stop each other

from running amok. These ministers kept

military focused on the military objectives.

They checked personal rivalries between

individual commanders. In addition these

ministers provided a crucial diplomaticsupp ort complementing the military ventures.

Second, Defense strategy reforms. The

combined choice of Guerr illa w arfare as tactics,

the reliance on light infantry and a solid line of

more than 300 strengthened forts represents

Shivaji's coherent defense strategy. Unlike

Rajputs, who stuck to their code of warriors

even as Mughal and Persian invaders broke

every possible rule of ethics, Marathas

retaliated in tit-for-tat way. They preferred

guerrilla warfare for defense and engaged in

open field battles only when necessary. They

never disrespected the women like Khilji and

Ghori did, so they were certainly ethical

THE 27 YEAR WARTHAT CHANGED COURSEOF INDIAN HISTORY - V

Kedar. Soman




minded. But they never shied from attacking

their enemies

a t n i g h t i f

required. They

w e r e m o r e

committed to

t he po l i t i c a l

objective than

t he pe r s ona l

o b j e c t i v e o f

bravery.

Additionally Shivaji launched Navy. Though

the Maratha ships were smaller and the

weapons inferior in technology, they gave

Marathas capabilities to open a sea front. This

sea front played a big role in the 27 year w ar byblocking Aurangzeb's supply chains from

Surat.

Several social reforms w ere introdu ced as well.

It is largely this statesmanship of Shivaji that

laid the foundation of indefatigable Maratha

resistance. Comm on peop le fought because

,for them , going back to the horror s of previou s

governance was simply not an option.

On the economic front, there was a taxation

reform. The previous empires had followed asystem of taxation that was predatory or at

times outright cruel. They had appointed

Jameen-dars that collected tax on their behalf.

The amount that was to be deposited in the

royal treasury was fixed, but the amount that

was to be collected from th e peasan ts was left to

Jameen-dars. These jameen-dars exploited th is

opportunity to fill their treasures, driving the

farmers to bankruptcy. Over the years these

Jameen-dars had built big castles, had their

own armies, their own courts and they enjoyedb e i n g m i n i - k i n g s .

Shivaji scrapped this system of taxation and

introduced taxes wh ere the amou nt that w as to

be collected from the peasants was fixed. The

a p p o i n t e d

officers were

g i v e n o n l y

l i m i t e d

mandate and

au t ho r i t y t o

carry out their

d u t y – t o

collect taxes.

T h e y w e r e

often transferred, preventing them from

developing too stron g local ties. If in any year it

did not rain and the farmers lost their crops, the

taxes were w aived.

Shivaji's fiscal p olicies were conservative.Thus no magnificent monuments like Taj

Mahal or Royal Mugh al gardens were built

by Shivaji. But it was him for whom his

nation was ready to die. This fiscal

conservative bend shows a striking

resemblance to another visionary leader.

After the American revolutionary war,

Thomas Jefferson refused to pay for the

extravagant ballroom maintained by

British Viceroy in Virginia colonies noting

that ” such mansions represent colossalwaste of taxpayer money”. By contrast,

Deccan Sultanates and Mughals had

shown little interest in welfare of people.

During the 22 years that took to build Taj

Mahal, three times there was severe

draught and hundreds of thousands of

peop le died. But Shahjahan focused all the

money an d efforts on building a tom b for

his wife.

It's indeed an irony that that Taj Mahal has

become symbol of India w hile the forts that

cradled th e first “swaraj”, first rule of peop le,

languish in d esolation.

To be Cont inu ed...31 Yuva bharati - July 2010



SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENTfor WORLD PEACE

Prof. Dr.P.Ramani

Everyone wi l l agree wi th me to

pronounce loudly that this world is a

beautiful place to live, with all its

natu ral resources in the form of flora and fau na,

rivers, mountains, seas and other natural

resources including minerals. As everyone

know s God Almighty is the creator of all these

natural resources. He also facilitates the

abundant use of these resources for the well-

being of all his creations both humans and

animals. Whereas the animals have evolved a

kind of a self-dictated code in using th e natu ral

resources judiciously and also faithfully

followed to adhere the code strictly, the human

beings have never seem to h ave believed that

the natural resources are to be shared by allGod's creations and indu lged in ind iscriminate

exploitation of all natur al resources. Systematic

attempts to misuse the natural wealth of the

land, water and minerals go unchecked with

the patronage of governments world over.

How ever in the past, our forefathers followed a

scientific approach to living and allowed the

use of natur al wealth by everyone. Efforts were

consciously made to minimize the use of

natural wealth. Everyone in the past wasguided by a self-directed code. There was no

official law of the land to keep a check on the

people from minimizing or overusing the

natural w ealth. Everyone un derstood the need

to use the natural wealth to the barest

minim um . It was a way of life for the rich and

the poor alike to recognize the fact that the

moth er's boun teous gift is not just for their use

but for the entire fraternity and posterity.

How ever with the invasion of the Mughals and

the Europeans who had their eyes set on the

natural w ealth of the country, our people w ere

threatened of their own existence. Last seven

hundred years proved a threat to the




consciously law abiding children of Mother

Bharath. There were people who stood fast to

their principles. How ever seven hu nd red years

seemed too long a period for our individual

identity to be protected. Inspite of the

pand emonium created by the foreign ru lers we

did not lose our identity in adh ering to the

un wr itten ethical code of the coun try. Added to

this is the essence of happy ethical living,

thanks to the percepts of the scriptures, more

specifically, the Vedas and the Up anishad s.

In the Mahabharatha, the Pan davas go in exile

to the forest. One n ight, Yud hishth ira has a

dream. A deer app ears before him in h is dream

and speaks to him of their plight:

“We are, Bhara tha, those deer that a re still alive

after them that has been slaughtered. We shall

be exterminated totally. Therefore, do thou

change thy residen ce “.

( Mahabhara tha : Sec CCLV1)

Yud hishth ira replies :

“We ought to feel pity for the dwellers of the

forest. We have been feeding on th em for a year

together and eight months. Let us, therefore,leave the forests abounding in wild animals.

Let us pleasantly pass the rest of our time and

leave these forests.”

Thus Yud hishthira m akes us realize that

protection of forests and animals is our

responsibility and it is mand atory for all living

things to live in harm ony w ith nature with the

basic tenet, “Live and Let Live” without even

proving ever a menace to the other living

things of God Alm ighty.

Even the laws of Manu insist up on the du ty of

the King to protect environment. In fact, the

followers of the Adva ita Vedan ta see natu re as

an asp ect of the d ivine.

“His waist the oceans and th e stack of

His bones are the mountains,

His veins are the rivers.

The plants and the trees are the hairs on the

body of the Universal form , O king!”

The air is his omnipoten t breathing, the passing

ages and H is movement and the reactions of the

mod es of material nature are H is activities.

The hairs on the head of the Supreme

Controllers are the cloud s .

Oh! Best of the Kurus an d th at the intelligence

of the Almighty is the prime cause of the

material creation.

Sri Mad hBhagavatam (Canto 2, Chap ter 1 verse

32-33)

The Rig Veda stron gly pron oun ces

“Do not cut the trees because they remove

pollution.”

Our forefathers have understood the basic

principles of living and living in harm ony w ithnature w hich includ es hum ans and animals. In

t h e n a m e o f m o d e r n i z a t i o n a n d

westernization, we have been overusing and

depleting all natural resources. Industrial

growth, urbanization, population growth, the

enormous increase in the use of consumer

goods and indiscriminate misuse of natural

wealth h ave led virtu ally to a chaotic situation

and stressed our environment beyond repair.

For instance, there have been large qu antities of

solid waste. In turn, the atmosphere has

become highly polluted. Air, water, earth and

the surrounding atmosphere have become




polluted and have already affected a large

number of our people who belonged to the

large family “Vasud ha Eiva Kutum bakam ”. We

believe, in India, that the whole world is a

single family. The very concept had its roots

and origins man y years ago.

Thus arises a need to create a strong awaren ess

among the people about natural resources.

Everyone, big and small realize the magn itude

of the alarming situation of the polluted

environment and fast depleting resources.

Hence, there is another slogan “Ensure

sustainable development at any cost .”

S u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t s h o u l d b e

u n d e r s t o o d i n a c l e a r e r p e r s p e c t i v e

.Sustainable development meets the needs of

the present generation and also ensures the

fulfillment of the requirements of the future

generations without any compromise on the

quality of benefits der ived.

Natural resources are the real capital (of a

nation) which if, depleted must be either

rep len i shed or subs t i tu ted by seeking

alternative resources to ensu re the expansion of

their assets base and sustain the consump tionlevels. When there w ill be a steep increase in the

pop ulation, there will be an increased d emand

in the consum ption levels prop ortionately. But

definitely, there is growth but grow th w hich is

disproport ionate and the benefi ts have

disproportionately d istributed. Add ed to this is

the accruing of these benefits have resulted

from unethical practices propelled and

triggered from a greedy mindset. Instead of

meeting the consumption levels of the people,

the policy makers have ignited the consumer

behavior turn greedy and unethical. The so-

called power-blocks of the world are part and

parcel of the present day consumer practices.

How ever, to save our p lanet earth and preserve

it for posterity we m ust take some imm ediate

remed ial action. The problems that are created

by technology and economic growth are p artly

to be blam ed. We fix our eyes on the so-called

economic growth and ignore the sustainability

or equ itable use of resources.

As individuals, we need to use the following

questions before we decide to deplete the

resources

v What will I leave behind for my

children?

v Is my ma terial gains someone's loss?

General Environm ental values

Population growth and the resultant

shortage of resources severely affect

the people in the d eveloped countries.

As an i nd i v i dua l we can s ave

energy/ electricity.

v Switch off lights and fans when you

leave the room.

v Use energy savers wherever we use

trad itional bulbs.

v Keep the tubes clean and wipe ou t the

dust.

v Switch off the radio/ tv as soon as the

programm e is over

v Use pressure cooker

v Keep the vessel covered with a lid

wh ile cooking.

v Close taps as soon as your job is done.

Role of an in dividual :




Valuin g nature

Environmental values cannot be taught and

they can be inculcated through a variety of

processes by exposing our p eople to appreciate

our environmental assets and experience theproblems that are caused du e to the destruction

of our environment.

Inden tification of n egative effects of our actions

on the environment mu st be part of our d ay-to-

day thinking.

The Constitution of India very well states the

individ ual's responsibility in protecting natu re.

Article 48(A)- the state shall endeavour to

protect and improve environment and to

safeguard the forests and wildlife in the

country.

Article 51 (g)- The constitution expects that

each citizen of the coun try must “protect and

improve the natural environment, including

forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have

compassion for all living creatu res.”

Cultural values

Each culture is un ique and it has something to

offer. Indian cultural values have unique

message to the whole world. Air, earth, water,

sky and fire are considered to be maha panja

boothas controlled by Lord shiva . Our elders

have p rescribed simp le rules. Everyone shou ld

take care to adhere these rules very strictly

without d iluting them.

Indians worship the five basic elements asembod iments of Lord Shiva at various places as

listed below:

At Kanchipuram Lord shiva represents Earth

At Tiruvan ama lai Lord Shiva rep resents Fire.

At Srikalashasth i Lord Shiva takes the form of

Air

At Tiruvan aikkaval Lord Shiva is embod ied as

Water and

At Chidambaram Lord Shiva represents the

Sky.

Thus the Indians worship nature as God and

know very w ell to respect the natu ral laws of

nature. The best way to live in harmon y w ith

nature is to seek lessons from our rich culture

and heritage of our past and frown upon the

aggressive materialistic pursuits of the west.

Micro details of how our forefathers struck an

ecological balance can not only lead us to a

world free from strife but also promote

harmony among the members of the world

community that will ensure a peaceful, clean,

harmon ious environment for ou r p osterity.

Th e n a t i o n a l i d e a l s o f I n d ia a r eRENUNCIATION AND SERVICE. Intensify Herin these channels, and the rest will take careof itself.







PUBLICATION DRIVE&

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TITHI

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As thou gh to fulfil the comman d of Swam i Vivekananda, Man aneeya Eknathji

had sown the seeds of Publication activity of Vivekanan da Kendra w ith Vivekananda

Kendra Patrika launched in February 1972 and Yuva Bhara ti in August 1973.

Thereafter du ring all these years these two sprou ts have branched ou t into as many as8 periodicals from d ifferent centres in different languages and on allied subjects.

The responsibility of distributing th e fragrance and fruits of this well grown

"Tree" amon g the w ider section of the literate world h as now come on the shoulders of

the Kendra's well-wishers and workers. It is therefore decided that every year from

15th Au gust to 22nd should be observed as Publications Drive Period, synchronizing

with Manan eeya Eknathji's Punya Tithi falling on Au gust 22nd.

Vivekananda Kendra therefore appeals to you to be an Annual or Life

Subscriber for any of its 8 periodicals as your tribute to the sacred memory of

Manan eeya Eknathji and to strengthen our han ds for spreading the Kendra's though t

movement, n amely, Man-Making and Nation-Building. The list of the m agazines and

relevant d etails are given in this Brochu re. There is also a following page to be used as

Enrolmen t Form. Please fill up this Form and either sen d it d irectly to the respective

office of the magazine with rem ittance or hand over the same to any of the Kend ra

karyakartas and get Temporary Receipt. The Original Receipt will be sent to you by

the concerned m agazine's office.

(D.Bhanudas) General Secretary

Vivekananda Kendra

Kanyakumari.





Documents

Yuva Bharati, Voice of Youth, July 2010 issue