I Watched Narendra Modi’s Varanasi speech in February 2022. Despite my Hindi limitations, I was impressed (why don’t they have subtitles in other Indian languages and in English?). This time, I skipped and worshiped Modi’s speech at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain during the inauguration of the Mahakal Lok Corridor last week. decided to watch. Of course knows an expression”Ujjayinyam Mahakalam” From Jyotirlinga Stotra, And the relation of Vikramaditya, Bhatrihari and even Shalivahana with Ujjain is known. Years ago, I read an amusing article by author Pupul Jayakar about his visit to Mahakaleshwar and the worship he witnessed. Jayakar was mesmerized and reached a state of altered consciousness. I never forgot that account. And of course, all educated Indians know (or should know) about the description of the Yaksha of Avantika/Ujjain in Kalidasa. cloudEven if they do not know that Avantika is one of the seven cities where promises of enlightenment and liberation are made and kept.
What struck me as important is that while Ujjain and Mahakal are integral to our spiritual traditions, the city of Madhya Pradesh should not be seen as just a mystic metaphor. Ujjain is closely associated with traditional Indian mathematics, astronomy and, of course, the Indian clouds! Aryabhatta, Varahamihira and Lilavati are the names that flash in our mind. Thus, a well publicized visit to Ujjain carries a subliminal message of keeping in touch with our heritage and our contemporary endeavor to keep in touch with the contradictions of the world of science, technology and metadata. To use a linguistic expression and a distant text from another tradition, “verily, truly”, the Lord of Time is invoked to bless our time.
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Lord’s children
Nice to see the PM adopting the South Indian dress code. Panche/Veshti The Mysore genre was definitely a hit with me. And now for worship only. Let us start with the resolution or the great resolve. The opening lines show that all human activity, even the present one, is done as a follow-up”Vishnor Ajna“Or the command of Vishnu. In one of the most sacred temples of Shiva we begin the ritual as obedient followers of Vishnu must once and forever puncture the condemnations emanating from Columbia, Harvard, and their Indian counterparts that the Sanatani Hindus are a manufactured myth and they were and are only at war with Shaiva and Vaishnava tribes. Like today’s most popular temple, Tirupati, visitors are always worshipers of Venkata-god, Hari-Hara, who cross the binaries It is important for our opponents and critics to maintain that we are a primitive warring sect. The sage Bhartrihari of Ujjain may have urged us to ignore these.dumb,
I was even more curious and impressed when the Prime Minister was called upon to apply sandalwood paste to the icon. Suddenly I heard lovely words Mr. Suktam,Gandhdwaram Doordarshanam….” The great goddess, especially as the giver of prosperity, is never far from our thoughts. And of course, she is the patroness of sandalwood. Ganesh, Subrahmanya and Parvati surround the prime minister Shiva We were reminded that we too are members of the Lord’s family. The best traditions around the world unobtrusively emphasize the centrality of the family. A chilling thought ran through my mind. This is the traditional family that waking Marxists and postmodernists want to destroy. In 1917 there was a proposal among the Soviets to hand over all children to state orphanages. The state, after all, owned them. Of course, we These views must continue to be strongly rejected. We are children of the Lord, not of the kingdom.
As soon as the worship was over, Bilva leaves were offered to the Lord. Incorporating Shami, Tulsi, Rudraksh, Parijata, Mallige flowers and leaves, even simple grass, Durva, Ganesha’s favorite, and many other objects from the natural world into our rituals are devoted with fanfare in our school textbooks. can go. Designated subject of environmental studies. But don’t hold your breath expecting such imaginative tricks by August NCERT. Since schools cannot or will not do this, I urge readers of this column to take their children and grandchildren to worship ceremonies and point out these intricacies. Our OTT and TV channels can and should be encouraged to play beautiful videos of Tamil superstar KB Sundarbal singing.Adoration to Lord Shiva,
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politics of spirituality
And now for the political message. I have always held that if Indira Gandhi had not displayed an unusual tension with her Emergency, she could have been our role model for a leader. I believe that as a patriot, he may have abandoned socialism when he saw that it didn’t work. Some would argue that she was a great leader despite her shortcomings. Indira was not afraid to publicly acknowledge her deep connection with our sacred traditions. His visits to Tirupati and several other temples demonstrated an unmistakable acumen. Perhaps the influence of his traditional pandit mother successfully countered the influence of his agnostic, socialist father, who felt increasingly ashamed of the country he loved. Indira’s 1972 Stockholm speech with extensive quotes atharvaveda comes to mind. It is not entirely an accident that Indira’s memorial is known as power point, Modi has carried the torch of Indira somewhere. Many of her speeches are reminiscent of Indira, and her proud indecent acts are very much in the spirit of the fearless Indira.
From a contemporary point of view, the political message of worship was clear. We gain strength as individuals and as a country by reconnecting with our “mystic melody of memory” (again from a distant context, but perfectly appropriate). Even as we worship the great God of time, we establish our connection with the mathematicians, stars and poets of antiquity. Our journey is worthwhile because we should preserve the fabric of our tradition and resolve to do it.
Who will be the opponents? I don’t believe that people of faith who are not Hindus will have any problem. After all, he was not being included in the partnership. And they will accept the tremendous improvement in civic sanitation and visitor facilities as a worthy act for the state which is nothing more in the interest of tourism. The only potential protester is the jagrat atheist Chatterjee who has appointed himself as the guardian of religious minorities, even though these minorities feel no need for such guardians. The problem with waking atheists is that they hate our culture because it is so intertwined with spirituality. As Ananda Kumaraswamy said, there is no music, dance, drama, storytelling, sculpture, painting or architecture in India that is not inextricably linked with spirituality. Too bad for people who are awake. They just have to carry it. We are committed to our spiritual traditions and our faith in the God of Time. And our today’s leader has no hesitation in conveying and emphasizing our message.
Jaitirtha Rao is a retired businessman based in Mumbai. Thoughts are personal.