Listen to the Message of the Himalayan Masters

The more I read about the tradition of the Himalayan Masters, the more enchanted I become. This lineage of great sages has been guiding life on earth of eons now. And we poor mortals have the gall to think we are the ones who are the smartest on earth!
Consider the few thousand years of known human history (most of which is anyway pretty cloudy and sketchy). We the 60-odd years of comparative peace following World War II is a great achievement. But when you compare our timelines with the planetary ones, those 60 years seem like a second, even a fraction of a second. And we think we have achieved something!
Already the tenuous peace that held is fraying. The world is headed inexorably to another period of war and suffering. So much for man's haughtiness.
Yet, for the discerning, a little bit of probing will suffice to know that behind all this drama is the hand of the great sages, doing their work silently.
The more I think of it, the more I am certain civilization as we know it is headed for doomsday. Even our exploitation of earth and its natural resources have reached the point where they are being taken faster than they can be renewed.
The only option for right thinking individuals who want to change this course of doom is to seek out the ways of the great sages and practise what they have taught. The teachings have been there always; only we need to practise it.
We talk of religious dialogues, tolerance, etc. And come to think of it, we don't even know why we are here. Are we running after something completely useless by following the way of life? I am more and more convinced that we are. And I am taking the message of the sages to heart seriously. Let me practise, and the rest is in THEIR hands!

The Challenge We Face

A recent report says the huge amounts of carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere due to human activity is making the ocean waters acidic. While that was known for some time, what is causing concern is that those waters, hitherto restricted to the depths of the big oceans, are now finding their way to the coastal shelves. And these acidic waters are thinning the shells of corals and other animals.
We have gone on polluting our air, water and other resources regardless of the fact that pollution is never confined to the area of pollution. We live in a connected eco-system and the pollutants and other toxins we add to one part of the earth will, sooner or later, find its way around the globe.
If we look at the pollution in some of our industrial cities and compare that with the serene air of the Himalayas or the Amazon, we may think only those living in highly polluted areas need to worry about the problem. Not so. Those pollutants are going to find their way to you, and affect to coming generations all over the earth.
We have been so short-sighted about this problem; and polluting and greedy businesses have glossed over it. But I read in a book about Swami Rama that the Himalayan sages were aware of it even at the beginning of the last century!
We had gone on polluting merrily and now we really do have a problem on our hands: we can continue to do what we do and condemn ourselves, the coming generations, and the whole ecosystem itself; or we can stop this madness and try to mend our ways.
But the second option would mean we change the way we live, and put an end to this conspicuous consumption we had taken for granted in the last 100 years. Are we up to the challenge?

Time To Bring Back The Philosopher Kings

The news of businessmen and film stars grabbing forest land in the Western Ghats comes as no surprise to me, considering the kind of rulers we have. The problem is we like to read and revel in such news, but scarcely do anything about it other than blame the government. But we are the ones who elect our own rulers, and when it comes the time to select our representatives we forget our duty -- we prefer to go by our religious, caste, regional and other parochial preferences than about the suitableness of the candidate. And then we blame the government. What a sorry state of affairs. We are digging our own grave and we blame others when they are just trying to finish off the job we started, and bury us!

I personally feel India is not ripe for democracy. And thinking about it, why do we need this western adjunct to our political life. I am not saying we go back to our monarchies. God forbid! But we could try to bring back the philosopher kings who ruled in Indian's golden age, the ones who were guided by the great sages - the Rajgurus. But for that we need a fundamental change in the way we mould our new generations. Because such kings will arise and can thrive only in an enlightened society. And we can start doing that only by establishing educational and other institutions that go by the teachings of the Himalayan masters. Again, I am making a case for institution(s) for Vedic culture and knowledge. Any takers?

A New Educational System For India

Violence of various hues and forms are sweeping the world, apart from the floods and quakes that have claimed lives by the thousands in Myanmar and China. Today's papers carried news of India's home minister saying immigrants from Bangladesh would not be confined to camps, even as Muslim terrorists from that country are under the scanner for the recent blasts in Jaipur. The fact, is you can argue for both sides in this issue. Yes, Bangladeshi migrants in India are human beings too and we cannot just put them into concentration camps - that militates against humaneness. Again, we cannot let terrorists among them roam free and target Indian citizens with bombs at will. The only way to solve this is to incorporate the migrants into the intelligence gathering process. Recent reports say they are a very closed group, refusing to divulge any sort of information to intelligence agents.
If that is so, there is a clear case for them to be collectively held responsible. But I doubt if that version of affairs is actually true; there could be many well meaning Bangladeshi immigrants who want a secure future for themselves in India, as some news reports quoting some of them made it clear.
So why is this happening? The answer is politics, and corruption. These two are eating into the very fabric of Indian society and culture and, if let alone to continue, can bring about balkanisation of the whole nation.
It is sad that Indian democracy, which could have brought about justice, equality and prosperity to everyone in the country, is being held to ransom by thugs and robbers posing as politicians. But I think this was inevitable. Every institution will reflect the development and perspicacity of the individuals who are in it; and our political rulers have failed to put in place an educational system that instils values and helps the new generations aware of and practise the the messages of the Himalayan masters. Without such practical moral and spiritual teachings, it was inevitable that our society and politics deteriorated into the current state of travesty and moral turpitude. Yes, India needs to revamp its educational system - not just to create more quality engineers and doctors, but better men and women who understand and practise the teachings of the sages.
I think sooner or later I have to do my part in that effort.

A School of Vedic Culture and Religion

Sorry, I have been away for some time. But I will be updating this blog more frequently now. Last few days I have been reading up on Sri Vidya and tantra, especially the book 'At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama' made a deep impression on me. The more I read it (I have read Swami Rama's 'Living With The Himalayan Masters' earlier), the more I feel humanity is hurtling down the path of destruction, and India, which had traditionally acted as a counterveiling force to the materialistic tendencies in the world has now switched sides, adding to the momentum of the destructive forces. The answer seems to lie in resurrecting the Vedic culture, not the Vedic culture that have come to us through the filter of Hindu priests, but in the original, unadulterated teachings of the Himalayan sages.
Those teachings are eternal - Sanatana - and hold valid for today's world as much as they did when they were first taught. It seems the competitive consumption we are indulging in, without regard to the impact on nature, is taking us to certain doom - unless we decide to apply the brakes now. But for that, the world intelligentsia and opinion leaders need to back a new way of living centred not on conspicuous consumption, but on sensitivity and respect to nature. If they don't, a new breed of more perspicacious opinion leaders and intelligentsia need to be created. That is where we need a School of Vedic Culture and Religion. The faster that is set up, the better.