Thoughts on photo of desecration of an Armenian church by Turkish / Azerbaijani soldier

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A  photo of (probably Turkish) soldier affiliated to to Azerbaijani army gives a call to Azaan from top of a captured Armenian Church. This happened on 14/11/2020. More things change, more they stay the same.

In the year of us reclaiming Shri Rāmajanmabhūmī after 500 years, this picture is sobering one. This is what our ancestors endured. NaMo’s victories should not put us at ease. And this is what awaits Somnath, Ayodhya, Thanjavur and Kāmākhyā again if Hindus fail in their vigilance. 

Just imagine the vigraha of rāmlalla and linga of Somnath and brihadīshwara being desecrated and broken by hammers (or bulldozer). Imagine cows being slaughtered in the garbhagruha of these temples. Imagine some pious Hindus stealing the vigraha before desecration and throwing them in some well/lake/river/sea. Imagine these vigrahas of your favourite dèvatā finding themselves installed/thrown in gutters, toilet septic-tanks etc just to show the idol-worshipers their place. If you think I am exaggerating, this is what happened to Hindus in last 1000 years. 

This is how the Sun Temple of MārtanDa and Multan was desecrated. This is how bhavāni temple of Tuljāpur was desecrated. This is what happened to earlier vigraha of Rāmlalla Virājmān in Ayodhya. This is what IS happening in some parts of West Bengal today during Durga Puja. This is what happened to Somnath 17 times!! 

If we think of forgetting our history - remember this picture. This is what awaits your gods too. Again.

Yoni and Importance of sustainability and manushya janma

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Due to human activity, many jīva-s who should have spent more time in pashu-yoni are being born as humans. Because humans have made extinct so many pashu-yonis, the jīva-a cannot spend their karmic backlog there & “earn” human birth. Hence so many animals among humans these days. 

Availability of a “right yoni (womb)” is very critical for all of us. We have spent lot of time, many times, either due to our ability of choice (some adhyātmikally progressed ones) or due to compulsions of our own past karma (most of us) - finding the right yoni so get a body. Availability of yonis (good, puNyavāna) is the biggest filter in the journey of every jīva towards moksha. This is one more reason why Hindu numerical (and qualitative) superiority is essential.

So many talented jīva-s (who were destined to shine due to their sanchit) missed out on being born in the yoni of a Hindu mother : because of limited availability of Hindu mothers in some parts of subcontinent. Since prevalent abrahmic system in those places no longer permits “तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय” journey, they shine once like fireflies and die-out - rescinding back to lower yonis (or more destitute humans). 

This is why is yoni utmost important? 

Because - शरीरं आद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम् (Physical body is the primary asset of achieving Dharma). 

Let us try and make our boys and girls “puNyavāna” - so that they in turn become conduits for great-jīvas to find body - shine - and move upward.

Thoughts on Durga and Athena

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I find story of Durgā very interesting. And the seed of this new understanding is actually in Stephen Fry’s observation on Sherlock Holmes - he is born a fully developed character the moment we meet him first. He doesn’t “grow” in story to become a great detective. We see Sherlock Holmes for the first time we meet him - as a fully formed, fully armed character. He stays like this throughout. 

Stephen Fry likens Holmes to Greek Goddess Athena. Her birth story is fascinating. She emerges from Zeus’s head - fully armed, all wise, fully formed. 

I have read Durgā saptashati many times (all Hindus should - especially during Chaitra and Ashwin navarātra). I always wondered how dèvī (in her Durgā form) just comes into being - all-knowing fully armed (by all dèvatā- for one purpose - to kill mahishāsura). We all know the story. So I won’t repeat it. 

Other avatāra (with exception of Narasimha, kūrma and varāha) have a growth story. How they eventually grew (physically, in character sense, in sense of a journey in life). They did many things. Apart from their momentous task. 

But not Durgā. SHE just comes into being. All powerful, all-armed, all knowing - for one single purpose. WAR and Destruction of mahishāsura. That’s it. This single-agenda of durgā (also varāha-narasimha-kūrma) avatarāra is what really sets HER apart. From other avatāra.

Beautifully captured in famous Marathi ārati of durgā

हारि पडिलो आता संकट निवारी

(I am about to lose now, just remove the sankaTa) 

चारही श्रमले परंतु न बोलवे काही

सहाही विवाद करता पडले प्रवाही 

(Vedas are tired now, cannot be uttered. All six darshans argued but to no avail). When all our world-views (darshans) argue, brain-storm and fail at finding an amicable, sustainable and dhārmik resolution to problem of asuras... 

When it starts threatening to the very existence of Shruti... That is when Durgā appears. For complete physical destruction.

It is important that the due process of argumentation, brainstorming, experimentation and genuine conflict resolution is tried out first. Most of the problems (even a fundamental one like Buddha) was solved this way. 

Not everyone is Durgā. Heck - even dèvī is not Durgā every time. When times are so bad (or about to be so bad) that it denies any scope of organic response to asuras, that is when Durgā comes into existence. For one single purpose. 

I shudder to think what happens then. We don’t want HER to be coming into existence every now and then, do we?

Thoughts on how Sangh will evolve in coming times

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 If and when time demands, a sangh 2.0 will emerge from current sangh - better adapted to deal with newer problems. It will emerged fully armed this time. Like Durgā. Or Athena. It won’t be born and grow and evolve like current sangh had to. Whatever Sitaram Goyal says, this learning curve and adaptive process that Sangh had to go through in last 100 years is and was extremely crucial for Hindus. In my opinion, Goyal got too impatient. Too abrahmic.

You cannot expect Hindus with no experience of Organization, International Politics and Conflict resolution for 1000 years to suddenly start resolving a problem as deep-rooted and complex as Abrahmic religions. Because abrahmic religions are not a spiritual problem like Buddhism. They are a socio-politico-economic problem. And Hindus had no experience in resolving these sort of problems proactively in last 1000 years. We HAVE to reinvent the wheel here and bring it up-to-date.

You cannot flog your child to win a race. The child HAS to go through learning process, evolution process, assimilation process. Ppl like Sitaram Goel are like those parents who pressurize their kids to score 100% AND win medals in all exams and sports - right from Jr KG

Link : https://twitter.com/Kal_Chiron/status/1330000464050495490

Thoughts on Varna Jaati and their being birth and/or karma based

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1. The status of varNa as “गुणकर्मविभागश:” is clear and old. Here karma implies both sanchit (past life) and kriyamāNa (what you do this life). Since very few people do such a vigorous karma in this life that it overcomes purva-sanchit, for most people varNa is birth based.

2. Varna is linked with āshrama. A brahmachāri and a sannyāsī has no varNa. For all practical purposes, only gruhasthāshrama person gets a varNa. This is case at least for those born in first three varNa families.

3. Varna is also linked with purushārtha.

3.1 A gruhasthāshrama brāhmaNa has to pursue dharma+moksha.

3.2 A gruhasthāshrama Kshatriya naturally pursues (owing time purva sanskāra) artha and dharma/moksha too it good sanchit and born with that sort of inclination

3.3 A gruhasthāshrama vaishya pursues kāma and artha predominantly. If born with past relevant sanchit then they also pursue dharma-moksha.

3.4 One outside these are those who only wish to pursue kāma. Monetary status aside, all those who “enjoy life”, “dil ki suno”, “You only live once”, etc are never initiated into varNāshrama dharma and are shudra.

Caveat : 

There are quite a few born in such shudra families too who showed spark/inclination towards dharma-moksha. They have shone time and again with help of Bhakti-yoga. Either straight Mukti or good gati and then formal initiation in subsequent births-

Example of Kunbi-maratha dichotomy of MH

Maratha = kshatriya

Kunbi = vaishya or shudra.

Elevation of shudras/Vaishyas to Kshatriyas is common. Holkar etc are examples. While their jāti remained dhangar, varNa became Kshatriya. All contemporary dharma-pandits have certified that. In any era (except modern), everyone has been wanting to move up.

That is human tendency. तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय.

But in era where there are material benefits to call oneself backwards, kuNbi identity became strong and Marathas too demanded and got reservation. Heck, even a section of Brahmins are now demanding the same looking at success of Marathas.

In era when reservation won’t matter and if dharma survives, everyone will return of earlier order. So in summary - while most of get varNa at birth owing to Purva-karma, it is possible to change varNa and move up (or down) by one’s relevant and vigorous karma.

Jāti is physical. You cannot change it. It is like skin colour. You are born with and die in your jāti. So you may be a chitpāvan. But you need not necessarily be a Brahmin.

Yes due to your ancestors you will be initially accorded some respect and privileges. But if your conduct is not according to how it should be, that goes away with time/generations. Since so many among us now a days want to be shudra live life to fulfill kāma (desires, not just sex), I will be keenly observing how the subsequent generations of these “you only live once” people born in privileged jāti fare!!

Not just materially. But holistically. I have already seen how sharp the fall of some of these people born in Brahmin jāti many living in gated communities of cities like puNè.

If you don’t try to swim this bhavasāgara and put some efforts you are destined to drown!!