The views expressed herein unfold Sri Aurobindo’s methadology to deal with huge challenges India was going to face in post-Independence era. Sri aurobindo conveyed these views between 1910-1922 in Arya- an English monthly published by Sri Aurobindo.
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“How shall we recover our lost intellectual freedom and elasticity? By reversing, for a time at least, the process by which we lost it, by liberating our minds in all subjects from the thraldom to authority. That is not what reformers and the Anglicised require of us. They ask us, indeed, to abandon authority, to revolt against custom and superstition, to have free and enlightened minds. But they mean by these sounding recommendations that we should renounce the authority of Sayana for the authority of Max Muller, the Monism of Shankara for the Monism of Haeckel, the written Shastra for the unwritten law of European social opinion, the dogmatism of Brahmin Pandits for the dogmatism of European scientists, thinkers and scholars. Such a foolish exchange of servitude can receive the assent of no self-respecting mind. Let us break our chains, venerable as they are, but let it be in order to be free, in the name of truth, not in the name of Europe. It would be a poor bargain to exchange our old Indian illuminations, however dark they may have grown to us, for a derivative European enlightenment or replace the superstitions of popular Hinduism by the superstitions of materialistic Science.”
“Our first necessity, if India is to survive and do her appointed work in the world, is that the youth of India should learn to think, to think on all subjects, to think independently, fruitfully, going to the heart of things, not stopped by their surface, free of prejudgments, shearing sophism and prejudice asunder as with a sharp sword, smiting down obscurantism of all kinds as with the mace of Bhima….”
“Let us not, either, select at random, make a nameless hotchpotch and then triumphantly call it the assimilation of East and West. We must begin by accepting nothing on trust from any source whatsoever, by questioning everything and forming our own conclusions. We need not fear that we shall by that process cease to be Indians or fall into the danger of abandoning Hinduism. India can never cease to be India or Hinduism to be Hinduism, if we really think for ourselves. It is only if we allow Europe to think for us that India is in danger of becoming an ill-executed and foolish copy of Europe…. We must … take our stand on that which is true and lasting. But in order to find out what in our conceptions is true and lasting, we must question all alike rigorously and impartially. The necessity of such a process not for India, but for all humanity has been recognised by leading European thinkers. It was what Carlyle meant when he spoke of swallowing all formulas. It was the process by which Goethe helped to reinvigorate European thinking. But … Europe has for some time ceased to produce original thinkers, though it still produces original mechanicians…. China, Japan and the Mussulman states are sliding into a blind European imitativeness. In India alone there is self-contained, dormant, the energy and the invincible spiritual individuality which can yet arise and break her own and the world’s fetters.”
Source: Bharat Vani
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These beautiful verses in Sanskrit unfold glory of India’s past. They make you aware of great souls who made their presence felt on this great divine land. The verses also let you know about beautiful places, rivers and mountains which make this part of the world a poetry carved on planet earth. I first noticed these verses on page of Sri Vijay Krishna Pandey.
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ॐ नमः सच्चिदानंदरूपाय परमात्मने
ज्योतिर्मयस्वरूपाय विश्वमांगल्यमूर्तये॥१॥
प्रकृतिः पंचभूतानि ग्रहलोकस्वरास्तथा
दिशः कालश्च सर्वेषां सदा कुर्वंतु मंगलम्॥२॥
रत्नाकराधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम्
ब्रह्मराजर्षिरत्नाढ्याम् वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥३॥
महेंद्रो मलयः सह्यो देवतात्मा हिमालयः
ध्येयो रैवतको विन्ध्यो गिरिश्चारावलिस्तथा ॥४॥
गंगा सरस्वती सिंधु ब्रह्मपुत्राश्च गंदकी
कावेरी यमुना रेवा कृष्णा गोदा महानदी ॥५॥
अयोध्या मथुरा माया काशी कांची अवंतिका
वैशाली द्वारका ध्येया पुरी तक्शशिला गया ॥६॥
प्रयागः पाटलीपुत्रं विजयानगरं महत्
इंद्रप्रस्थं सोमनाथस्तथामृतसरः प्रियम्॥७॥
चतुर्वेदाः पुराणानि सर्वोपनिषदस्तथा
रामायणं भारतं च गीता षड्दर्शनानि च ॥८॥
जैनागमास्त्रिपिटकः गुरुग्रन्थः सतां गिरः
एष ज्ञाननिधिः श्रेष्ठः श्रद्धेयो हृदि सर्वदा॥९॥
अरुन्धत्यनसूय च सावित्री जानकी सती
द्रौपदी कन्नगे गार्गी मीरा दुर्गावती तथा ॥१०॥
लक्ष्मी अहल्या चन्नम्मा रुद्रमाम्बा सुविक्रमा
निवेदिता सारदा च प्रणम्य मातृ देवताः ॥११॥
श्री रामो भरतः कृष्णो भीष्मो धर्मस्तथार्जुनः
मार्कंडेयो हरिश्चन्द्र प्रह्लादो नारदो ध्रुवः ॥१२॥
हनुमान् जनको व्यासो वसिष्ठश्च शुको बलिः
दधीचि विश्वकर्माणौ पृथु वाल्मीकि भार्गवः ॥१३॥
भगीरथश्चैकलव्यो मनुर्धन्वन्तरिस्तथा
शिबिश्च रन्तिदेवश्च पुराणोद्गीतकीर्तयः ॥१४॥
बुद्ध जिनेन्द्र गोरक्शः पाणिनिश्च पतंजलिः
शंकरो मध्व निंबार्कौ श्री रामानुज वल्लभौ ॥१५॥
झूलेलालोथ चैतन्यः तिरुवल्लुवरस्तथा
नायन्मारालवाराश्च कंबश्च बसवेश्वरः ॥१६॥
देवलो रविदासश्च कबीरो गुरु नानकः
नरसी तुलसीदासो दशमेषो दृढव्रतः ॥१७॥
श्रीमच्छङ्करदेवश्च बंधू सायन माधवौ
ज्ञानेश्वरस्तुकाराम रामदासः पुरन्दरः ॥१८॥
बिरसा सहजानन्दो रमानन्दस्तथा महान्
वितरन्तु सदैवैते दैवीं षड्गुणसंपदम् ॥१९॥
रविवर्मा भातखंडे भाग्यचन्द्रः स भोपतिः
कलावंतश्च विख्याताः स्मरणीया निरंतरम् ॥२०॥
भरतर्षिः कालिदासः श्रीभोजो जनकस्तथा
सूरदासस्त्यागराजो रसखानश्च सत्कविः ॥२१॥
अगस्त्यः कंबु कौन्डिण्यौ राजेन्द्रश्चोल वंशजः
अशोकः पुश्य मित्रश्च खारवेलः सुनीतिमान् ॥२२॥
चाणक्य चन्द्रगुप्तौ च विक्रमः शालिवाहनः
समुद्रगुप्तः श्रीहर्षः शैलेंद्रो बप्परावलः ॥२३॥
लाचिद्भास्कर वर्मा च यशोधर्मा च हूणजित्
श्रीकृष्णदेवरायश्च ललितादित्य उद्बलः ॥२४॥
मुसुनूरिनायकौ तौ प्रतापः शिव भूपतिः
रणजितसिंह इत्येते वीरा विख्यात विक्रमाः ॥२५॥
वैज्ञानिकाश्च कपिलः कणादः शुश्रुतस्तथा
चरको भास्कराचार्यो वराहमिहिर सुधीः ॥२६॥
नागार्जुन भरद्वाज आर्यभट्टो वसुर्बुधः
ध्येयो वेंकट रामश्च विज्ञा रामानुजायः ॥२७॥
रामकृष्णो दयानंदो रवींद्रो राममोहनः
रामतीर्थोऽरविंदश्च विवेकानंद उद्यशः ॥२८॥
दादाभाई गोपबंधुः टिळको गांधी रादृताः
रमणो मालवीयश्च श्री सुब्रमण्य भारती ॥२९॥
सुभाषः प्रणवानंदः क्रांतिवीरो विनायकः
ठक्करो भीमरावश्च फुले नारायणो गुरुः ॥३०॥
संघशक्ति प्रणेतारौ केशवो माधवस्तथा
स्मरणीय सदैवैते नवचैतन्यदायकाः ॥३१॥
अनुक्ता ये भक्ताः प्रभुचरण संसक्तहृदयाः
अविज्ञाता वीरा अधिसमरमुद्ध्वस्तरि पवः
समाजोद्धर्तारः सुहितकर विज्ञान निपुणाः
नमस्तेभ्यो भूयात्सकल सुजनेभ्यः प्रतिदिनम् ॥ ३२॥
इदमेकात्मता स्तोत्रं श्रद्धया यः सदा पठेत्
स राष्ट्रधर्म निष्ठावानखंडं भारतं स्मरेत् ॥३३॥
जयति पुण्य सनातन संस्कृति…जयति पुण्य भूमि भारत…
सदा सुमंगल…वंदेमातरम…..
जय श्री राम
Source: Vijay Krishna Pandey
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These verses in Hindi written by famous poet Neearj unfold the charishma of feeling called love!
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जब तक आँसू साथ रहेंगे,
मुझको याद किया जायेगा;
जहाँ प्रेम की चर्चा होगी,
मेरा नाम लिया जायेगा ।
जब भी कोई सपना टूटा,
मेरी आँख वहाँ बरसी है;
तड़पा हूँ मैं जब भी कोई,
मछ्ली पानी को तरसी है ।
गीत दर्द का पहला बेटा,
दुःख है उसका खेल खिलौना
कविता तब मीरा होगी,
जब हँस कर ज़हर पिया जायेगा ।
जहाँ प्रेम की चर्चा होगी,
मेरा नाम लिया जायेगा ।
-By Neeraj
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Pics Credit:
रत्नाकराधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम्
ब्रह्मराजर्षिरत्नाढ्याम् वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
रत्नों का भंडार सागर जिसके चरण पखारता हो,,,
पर्वतराज हिमालय जिसका मुकुट हो,,,
ब्रह्मर्षि और राजर्षि जिसके प्रतिष्ठित पुत्र हों,,,
उस भारत माता को नमन~~~~~~^~~~~~~
इतनी अद्भुत संस्कृत कविता के लिए विजय जी आपको हृदय से धन्यवाद। इस तरह के कार्य अविश्वसनीय प्रतीत होते है आज के समय में। उम्मीद है भविष्य में भी आप इस तरह की रचनाये प्रकाशित करते रहेंगे। वैसे विजय जी आपके द्वारा जो कुछ भी प्रकाशित होता है वो उल्लेखनीय होता है।
Many thanks to these readers who made their presence felt on this post:
Vijay Krishna Pandey, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh; Tribhavan Nath Tiwari, Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh; Awadesh Pandey, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh; Rajjan Mishra, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; Himanshu Bhushan Pandey, Siwan, Bihar; Rekha Pandey, Mumbai; Kripashankar Pandey, Mumbai; Arun Pandey,Senior Sub Editor/Geologist, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; Lalita Jha, New Delhi and Shefalika Verma, Radio Madhesh Malangwa.
Chandrapal S. Bhasker, United Kingodm, said:
Chandrapal S Bhasker Cannot agree more. The artefacts of cultural colonialism that are well and alive and deeply imbedded in India and in South Asia need to be uprooted and discarded in favour of amaazingly rich and roboust intellectual and moral value systems of India.
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Author’s Response:
The regime of Modi ji could be a great beginning in this regard 🙂
Deewaker Pandey, New Delhi, said:
Superstitions in Hinduism is only because either people don’t have knowledge or they have half knowledge. They follow something but they r unable to express the reason because they don’t have information. 1000 year slavery and wrong history lead to such situation where people have forgotten their own culture and history. They don’t value it.
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Author’s Response:
Correct…Therefore, one of our topmost priorities should be to go back in history and get the facts rights…We should learn the right way to feel in right terms…