(For
some time now right from my tour of South India, specifically my visit to
Kanyakumari I was feeling the urge to write this but owing to personal issues I
barely had the time to sit down and think about this all over again. Ideas,
arguments, logic, cross-questions have baffled me and this is where I land up.)
The last 2-3 years the state
of India have declined rapidly --- economically, socially the downfall is
evident. Adding to this are the innumerable cases of scams and corruption which
questions the integrity of the nation as a whole. Whenever I hear of
patriotism, nationalism, national parties and national leaders I feel ashamed
of at our plight. It's a pity that we are so much ignorant about the sense of
the term. What is nationalism why is it so difficult to achieve ?
Looking back into the pages
of Indian history 3 names come to my mind who may be referred to as
nationalists from their action, their ideology & their intellect--Chanakya,
Gandhi & Vivekananda. These men stood ahead of their times and tried in
their own ways to unite the nation, to build a state which could survive
adversities---their effort was not for unity among diversity but unity against
adversity, the more practical approach. To unite a country like India with such
varying cultures and life styles it is imperative to understand the real
requirement of the mass and more importantly to translate that into easy
actions that will bind all with ease and in correct cohesion.
Chanakya was to me the 1st
man who felt India with its diversities was always a weak spot for any foreign
invasion. And that is why the need to unite all the kings led by Magadh seemed
to him the best option against the Greek invasions led by Alexander. But that
attempt was a failure even under such serious situation. Chanakya joined
Chandragupta and a vast empire emerged covering major portion of India. (Post Chandragupta era different dynasties
have ruled India, the common part was that the core of those empires were almost same as
those of Chandragupta with extents varying depending on the strength of the
different rulers.) The founding stone of Maurya dynasty was laid by
Chandragupta but the ground work and vision belonged to Vishnugupta or
Chanakya. There are debates in History about who exactly this person was.
Whoever he was it cannot be denied that the man thought ahead of his times and
was the key Architect behind the 1st Indian Empire.
(Picture Courtesy : www.google.com)
Different opinions exist and
are increasing with time regarding the contribution of Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi in India's freedom movement--the older ones are blindly loyal, the
younger ones are aggressively critical. (Post
1857 British had taken full control of India and our school book history has
been particularly critical about them and have deliberately ignored the huge
amount of positive work they have done for their colony. And much of these are
still the backbone of Modern India. Even the history & culture which we
often refer to as our glorious past is available to us because of the
excavations and efforts put in by the British in their inquisitiveness to learn
about India.) Gandhi travelled throughout India and felt the pulse of the
nation. His ways were simple and appealed to the mass. Everyone felt that they
could associate with these ideas/methods. The sporadic extremist movements were
intense but the mass could not contribute or associate with that. In the ways
of Gandhi the people could play an active part in national politics as well as
cater to the needs of his daily life. This seemed more practically feasible and
hence Gandhi's movements became Mass movements. Modern day protests, opinion
polls, internet discussions, media discussions reflect the same psyche which
Gandhi was successfully able to capture. It was not about charisma, it was
about understanding the people, their constraints, their limitations and the
strength. In today's scenario we have all the media & technology to get
universal support for any movement but we are short on ideas of how to do it
and this is where we are confused about the way forward unless such similar
figure comes up.
(Picture Courtesy : www.google.com)
Vivekananda, in some ways to
me, is the greatest ever Indian nationalist. Not because for what he told the
world about India but because he understood the root of our problem. He was a
social activist who by his actions tried to convince people that only by hard
and honest work, mutual help we can change our future. To him only a nation
with stable social & economy was a stable politically and that can be the
only foundation for any philosophical or spiritual growth. The fact that he was
there at that rock for 3 days speaks volumes of his guts, will power and
intensity of purpose. Often people refer to those 3 days as the days when he
attained "moksha", this to me appears weird. Logic speaks
differently. Having travelled all over India he had reached the ultimate point
beyond which he nothing left to explore in India. So, he needed seclusion, a
place of tranquility where he could recollect his composure from the various experiences
of his travel. In this exercise he understood that lack of education, poverty, health
& hygiene were the reasons to worry about for the future. India was not in
position to cultivate philosophy. The search for the soul can only be done when
the health is good. To address these shortfall the immediate requirement was man
power & finance. The first one could be made available from within but the
second one required external help. So, he decided to turn West. Vivekananda was
aware that the scientific, rationalistic & progressive nature of the West
had given them the health where seeds of Indian Philosophy could be sown. In
this attempt if he was successful chances were more that India would benefit
from the positives of Western Philosophy. Often we talk of exchange programs,
here was one of India's earliest exchange programs. In an age when Indians were
looked upon as natives Chicago Religious Meet provided the platform where
Vivekananda delivered one the greatest ever speeches of any exchange program.
The benefits as expected came gradually with time. Till date there has been no
individual who has so effectively addressed India's problems and in such modern
approach.
(Picture Courtesy : www.google.com)
These men did their job day
in, day out ignoring the irritations and frustrations of having to interact
with the arrogance of the North, meanness of the East, dumbness &
selfishness of the South and the superiority complex of the West and above all the
dishonesty of all. It is a shame when these men are looked upon as pioneers for
any political party or religion and not for the nation.
