Krishna - A War Monger or a Counsel ?

Partho and Shakuntala were amongst our best family friends. In age they were nearly a decade older than me and my wife, one can call it generation gap and, we respected them more as our elders than friends. Partho was a self taught photographer and continued well into his retirement. Shakuntala devoted all her time in the service of Lord Krishna and her charitable activities. She was a modern day Mira. She had converted her home into an ashram and invited women friends for the daily puja rituals. She organised devotional musical programmes and invited visiting 'gurus' and 'swamis' to UK to her home and washed their feet. She was true and true a divine personality. On the other hand Partho, though never objected or interfered in Shakuntala's activities, was opposite. He never visited any temple or bowed to any idol. However, he did avail himself to the services of Shakuntala whenever there was a photo opportunity during the visitation by saffron garbed 'gurus'. I use to tell him that people who live in a temple had no need to visit temple. He would give me a gaze avoiding any comments.

Kamala was in her teens and only daughter of Partho and Shakuntala. Kamala sounded too desi and long so she shortened her name to Kam following many thousands of Indian youths who had done before her. Kanti became Ken, Chotalal became Cho, Mandeep became Mandy, Mohit became Mo, Krishna became Kris and so on. Kam was a sweet little vibrating intelligent being. She was a step further from her father. She did not subscribe to her mothers activities and kept away from home for most of the time with her English boyfriend Robert. Weekends were totally away from home only to avoid devotional environment, the music, the incense, the spiritual vibes and all the noise to go with it.

One evening we visited them unannounced - its was Shakuntala's insistence that no one should call to visit her and her home should be treated open 24/7. That evening we found Shakuntala a broken person making difficult attempt to read from the scripture. A middle aged gray haired woman had put on few more years and gray hairs since we last saw her only a few days ago. She gave us a dry faint smile and said she was going to call us in any case.

We soon found the cause that lead to her shocking condition. She was deeply hurt. The tears ran in abundance over her now fragile crumpled cheeks as she slowly began to open up.

Kamala insulted my Lord Krishna. She called him a war monger and preacher of violence. She lay total blame on Krishna for the war of Mahabharata. She accused Lord of forcing Arjuna to kill his own elders, teachers and young cousins.

Tear taps were on the high as she slipped in to repeat mode and her story looped to repeat everything in sequence. I kept quite and waited for the right moment to short circuit her mental loop which seemed unending like Hare Krishna mantra chant. But she was out of breath now. She stopped to take deep gasp of fresh air and to wipe cold itchy sticky tears. I took the cue and broke her mental circuit just to remind her that Kamala always listened to me and that I would talk her out of this. I knew I would convince her that what Lord Krishna's advice to Arjun is a thoughtful and relevant time eternal.

To begin with I simply asked Kamala how would she feel if her bank manager did not perform his or her duty that lead to difficulty and loss to her ? I WOULD COMPLAIN AND DEMAND COMPENSATION AS IT WAS THEIR DUTY TO SERVE ME TO THE FULLEST.

I asked her what if her doctors failed to treat her correctly and as a consequence she lost her job ? I WOULD COMPLAIN AND CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION...

What if a thief got away with your mobile phone and the police just looked on ? SHE STARRED AT ME...

I explained Kamala that what she demanded in terms of performance of one's duty is what Lord Shree Krishna reminds Arjun. Being a soldier, a King, a Ksatryiya it was the sole duty, Dharma of Arjun to fight in defence of justice. If Arjun failed his Dharma he would fail everyone, including himself.

Eisenhower, former President of USA, once said during the World War II campaign that he was inspired by the Bhagwad Gita to fight on and win every time he felt let down or overwhelmed by depression. He said that if the soldiers put down their arms who will defend justice? Pacifism does not mean you stop defending yourself at the time of attack on you. You have to fight as it becomes your sole Dharma to save yourself. This was what Lord Krishna advocates to Arjun - perform your duty.

Taking this further in our day to day life, say if doctor fails his Dharma you cannot expect a bank manger to do doctor's job and vise versa. Everyone has been bestowed with duties in society...Dharma. The condition of our society is totally dependant upon the sincerity with which one performs one's Dharma.

Kamala's mind set condition changed slowly but surely and she slowly understood the meaning of the Bhagwad Gita and today she is ardent follower and companion of her mother.

Barbara Stoler Miller in her introduction to The Bhagwad Gita says:

According to Krishna, Arjun's objection to killing his relatives are based on the same subjective worldly desire that blinds his foes to their folly. Krishna's solutions lies on another level, one where oppositions co-exist within his cosmic knowledge. Krishna the omnipotent lord, teaches that the warrior's ordained duty (DHARMA) is grounded in the reciprocal relationship between cosmic and human action (KARMA), which is crucial to universal order.

In the Steps of the Yogis, Swami Vijayananda (Dr A J Weintrob) gives an interesting account when he first visited Shri Lanka (erstwhile Ceylon) just after the World War II in search of Spiritual master. He met a senior Buddhist bikkhu who said the Bhagwad Gita was a dangerous book because it sanctioned murder in certain cases. It is a charge that has been made against this Indian "Bible" (like Kamala), but it cannot withstand thorough investigation. The book has to be read from cover to cover and within its own proper context...the "sanctioning of murder" is not a commandment in the Gita; far from it. It is a counsel given to Arjuna, a military leader, and it is given at a critical moment on the battlefield; it comes as the solution of a problem rooted in exceptional circumstances, and is not intended to be a directive for all men.

There is no man who, in the course of his life, has not confronted - albeit on a lesser scale-a dilemma such as this-the imperative to choose between two course of action which are equally wrong.

But Krishna allowed his friend and disciple a way out of this impasse. The duty of a military leader, he declared, is to fight in defence of justice. Arjuna, therefore, should give battle, not beat a faint-hearted retreat. However, though it was his duty to kill his enemies, he should do so without hatred or anger or passion, and without concern over the outcome of the actions performed simply in his role as an instrument of God. In this way he would bear no responsibility for deed which, under other circumstances, would have been sin.

This is far call from saying that the Gita licenses any man to kill provided only that he do so without hatred in his heart. The fact is that there are no sublimer teachings than those of the Bhagvad Gita and its moral code can bear comparison with that of any religion whatever.

Many learned humans amongst us and, many of today's fashion generation youths are misled into believing what Kamala once believed. I hope this blog offers, to all those full of suspicion and doubts, a thought provoking spark that could re-kindle their capacity to think and understand the Bhagwad Gita better. And if one has joined a fashion group who bash The Bhagwad Gita because it is fashionable and cool to do so, I would say still there is lot of hope, because Lord Shree Krishna has promised that Parivartan (Change) is inevitable. Everything has to change and those who fail to change will parish. So there we go - today's fashion of Bhagwad Gita bashing has fair chance of changing and, if not, then this fashion will have to go out of fashion to replace by yet another fashion...cool...ehhh!...Krishna says so and history is before us to witness...Jai Shree Krishna

Just Arrived...looks like will stay on...

Acknowledgement:

In the foot steps the Yogis by Vijayananda (Dr A J Weintrob), Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans, Mumbai 400 007

The Bhagwad Gita by Barbara Stoler Miller

Copyrighted 2008 by Navin Joshi

Ready Rationalism - An Indian Disease

I am not too sure if I will be sharing controversial opinions/information with you or my opinions put forward will be construed as controversial. Instant misunderstanding and instant criticism, like instant coffee and instant sex, have branded people with instant political and religious tags - and this phenomenon has become a very common Indian past time today. If you support a Hindu point of view or do not support Left defined secularism you are coloured saffron and are treated as dirt. Like they say - Indians have more opinions than information - a very apt cliche for today's generation next Indian youths who, due to lack of foresight and understanding of Indianness, have slipped onto the slippery surface created by the pro-Western Indian Elite & Lenin, Marx and Mao inspired lefties (sadly I was one of them too) - who in spite of being in the minority are today India's opinion makers. The fear of being branded right wing saffron-ey (this word is my invention & pronounced as in loony) the educated keep away from discussing religion or social injustice. Even the nonfactual history curriculum is willingly allowed to be taught in as higher level as post graduation. People of eminence who have questioned Aryan Invasion & Dravidian theory have been branded saffron-ey.

But if you are a jeans cladded, short dressed, coffee drinker, alcohol boozer, a freshly converted carnivorous - proudly called Non-veg, breathing bastardized English and infected with Rationalism & Pseudo-secularism of the west and the Left - you have arrived...rejoice generation next - looks you are on verge of failing India.

This is sad indeed.

I started paintings a couple of weeks ago after 'hanging' my brushes three decades ago. I have had one man shows in London and have had the privilege to hang one painting at Jahangir Art Gallery - Bombay Art Association - but this was in the sixties and seventies. Last night I was browsing on Internet searching for inspiration for my next painting. I searched M F Hussain - my hero, along with Cezanne, Picasso, Van Gough and, Hussain's uncanny resemblance to my father (now deceased) we call him 'our lost uncle'. To my great surprise I came across blogs by Ready Rationalists in support of M F Hussain and against campaign supported by so called saffron brigade for MFH painting Nude Hindu idols. I was under the impression that the issue of Nude Hindu Idols paintings and M F Hussain was over and done with and was in back burner. Not so.

I read few and put my comments with tinge of anger as the bloggers lacked depth and understanding of hurt sentiments of the Hindus and, in the process playing part of fuel in already fierce fire . I felt this was only because of their ignorance or I question - could this be to avoid being labeled 'saffron-ey or fear of becoming an outcast in generation next elite!

I, an ex-radical, rebel, ex-editor/publisher of left wing magazine, communist, socialist, active anti-apartheid campaigner, CND - anti nuclear campaigner, converted Vegetarian & campaigner for animal rights, original member of the group who brought 'Future in our hand' Norwegian campaign to London, first to open vegetarian restaurant called 'Vegetarian' in London, ardent supporter of Narbada Bachao Andolan and, the list goes on and on - so I can simply say I know what I am talking about and I simply do not accept anything readily but DO THINK. Have own opinion with information.

The ignorance of the supporters of M F Hussain paintings showed in every drop - or should I say pixel - one compared them with Khajuraho and questioned which was more obscene. Another passed judgement on painting 'Sita's Rescue' - it is possible that Sita could have slipped and got hold of Hanuman's tail but, did not offer any reason why Sita was nude and why Hanuman deeply glanced at Sita. They even failed to examine the fact that the Ramayan very clearly depicts only one incidence in the whole epic where Hanuman gets the glimpse of Sita's face and that only when they return to Ayodhya - the powerful vermilion story. Hanuman never ever looked at the face of of Sita as a matter of deep regard and keeping up with high moral ground & this behaviour towards Sita underlines the fundamental moral standard set by the Ramayan and, M F Hussain's painting throws cold water over this - Ramayan is simply lost in his paintings replacing obscenity and vulgarity. Every Ready Rationalist & psudo-secularist failed to understand the fact that Ramayan is an epic of moral conduct and has been written and done with centuries ago - full stop...no further editing or guess work is permitted.

As far as Khajuraho's explicit sexual images are concerned - the ready Rationalists failed to carry out their research fully. They simply, out of habit, picked info from another blog and made their own. None seem to have actually visited this immensely beautiful temple site. Their own thought process was non-existent. Indians, I can justifiably say that virtually all Indians, believe, or are conditioned to believe, that the infamous images of explicit sexual behaviour in the Khajuraho Temples built by Chola Dynasty were far too common and too profound images in dynasty days. How wrong one can get? These images are very small and scarce - a little larger than a normal brick - and hidden in dark corners or placed in insignificant places of the temple building and, tourists gets glimpse only when made aware by the guides. A strong opinion in archeology circle in India, as well as abroad, suggests that this images were made by craftsman to show their sexual frustration in absence of females in the temple building site and were not patronised by the ruling dynasty. It is not that the entire Khajuraho Temple complex has large numbers of such images openly exhibited. This is absolutely not true. I can share one small experience I have had - once I visited Serkhej Dargah in the outskirt of Ahmadabad in the early eighties. While walking through the ruins my young daughter pointed to a small motif on a fallen pillar of an ancient mosque, close inspection showed sexually explicit image placed neatly in a corner. Why was it there and what should we compare this with? Finally let me add to refresh memories of readers that the Khajuraho images are not of any Hindu deities, goddesses or Sita of Ramayan.

The point I am trying to hit home is that Hinduism - though I prefer to call by its ancient and true name The Sanatan Dharma - is an umbrella organisation of various belief systems and few nude image cannot be construed as the whole Hinduism. What happens to the spiritual segment of Hinduism where there are no images ? There are terrorist Muslims but would it be correct to brand whole Islam as religion of terrorism ? CERTAINLY NOT. There are pedophile Christians but would we brand Christianity as religion of pedophile ? CERTAINLY NOT. So few sexual explicit images of Khajuraho should not brand Hinduism as a sexually explicit religion. IT IS THAT SIMPLE. Rather than being simply Ready Rationalist or pseudo-secular I would urge Indian youths to question happenings in their surroundings, be that religious, political or social rather than accepting everything mindlessly. Wake up - tomorrow is yours. Be vigilant. World only respects those who respect themselves first. Charity begins at home.

I am sure:

Woh Subha kabhi to ayegi - that morning will arrive one day.

Just Arrived - may be to stay on.

Copyrighted 2008 by Navin Joshi