India Wronged Spiritually?

Gurucharanam Saranam

India Wronged Spiritually?

Mukundan P.R.

Warning: Do not discard your allegiance to the gods unless you are fully acculturated in the path of the Rishis or Gurumargam, it can be dangerous.

Very few people might be aware or might have thought that India’s problems of poverty, corruption and social distortions are due to her wronged spirituality. Wronged spirituality, not lack of spirituality! Whenever and wherever dharma is wronged that society suffers and it is true in India’s case. But this truth is covered up by the learned pundits as well as the pauperized ignorant people of India. India’s rise is prevented by the weight of an outdated version of spirituality, polluted and fragmented internally and degrading socially. This wronged version of Hinduism is popularized through a temple culture, the distinct features of which are an iniquitous caste system and worship of gods and demigods. The price India and the people of India have paid during the last thousand years and are still paying for this great spiritual aberration is very high. India should return to the source of its spiritual wisdom, the Rishi tradition, which venerates the Absolute Truth of Brahman than the blind supplication to thirty three billion gods and an ugly forced veneration of caste hierarchy.

‘Apoojya-poojane chaiva poojyaanaam-apyapoojane, Narah patanam-aapnoti mahadwai naatra samshayah’, says Kurma Purana. By not revering those who are to be revered and revering those who are not to be revered, that society goes to utter ruin. And India has been utterly ruined by the veneration of venerable gods and demigods in contravention of yugadharma. India forgot the Supreme Brahman and the venerable Rishis in the lineage of Manu. Don’t the Hindus know the spiritual status of demigods and devas? Don’t the Hindus know that the abode of sages and rishis are higher than the gods and devas? They know and the devas too know it. The gods always revered the rishis. The puranas are full of such knowledge. Otherwise how can Brigu Maharshi kick Maha Vishnu on his chest with his feet! How can the king of gods Indra beg pardon from Atri Maharshi for the escape from a curse? The great Vishwamitra Maharshi, challenged Brahma, the creator and proceeded to create an alternative universe itself! He was stopped doing so by the request of gods. Then whom should we follow, the great rishis or the gods? We should follow the rishis. The Buddhists, the Sikhs, the Jains, the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims understood it. They followed Gurumargam, the path of the Buddha, Guru Nanak, Mahavir, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed and they prospered and were blessed to that extent.

Why and when did the gods and devas begin to be extolled here sidelining the great rishis, the repositories of highest spiritual wisdom and God realization and through whom alone mankind can hope for spiritual uplift? Was it for the sake of the Vedic priests, because their livelihood depended on temples? At least now they can change, as very few of them depend on temple craft now. O’ priests! At least now you can release India from these spiritual wrongs, which your innocent ancestors inflicted upon the great Indian civilization. And you smug Media and the sleepy Intelligentsia, wake up! You heed not the sages of this country and their spiritual mission, with full of ignorance, arrogance and ridicule inside you. But their message cannot be trifled down and trampled upon. India will rise again and so too the Rishi tradition. It is the requirement of this age, the yuga dharma.

Say No to Caste

Gurucharanam Saranam

Say No to Caste

Mukundan P.R.

Another leaf from the tree of time has fallen down. Now welcome a new dawn. Observing our thoughts and actions, a truth becomes apparent that how blissfully the Hindus are imprisoned in the dingy cells of caste, cricket, corruption, and controversies. The Hindus give me the feeling that they live in a large chilling plant isolated both in time and place. The cacophony of their discordant voice forebodes something unpleasant, especially in regard to their understanding of Hinduism and caste system. They tend to believe that the spiritual practices they follow and the social model they have erected are matchless and irrefutable. Nothing less can be the truth in practical terms. The Hindu society in particular is reeling under the weight of a dilapidated spiritual and social order.

The apologists of caste system should remember that it is caste which has weakened India. Islam entered India with the faith in one Supreme God upholding the concept of an equalitarian society. They ridiculed the Hindu social order and the spiritual licentiousness prevailing among Hindus. Islam dissected India into three after the struggle for independence. That it will continue to do so should be more or less clear to us going by the dangerous Jihadist philosophy. If Kashmir was Islamized and which wants cessation now, the credit goes to the ignoble caste rigidity which prevailed in the valley in the beginning. The evil was eradicated by the efforts of spiritual leaders like Lal Ded and Noorudin Rishi (a convert from lower caste), opening the door for a socially inclusive ideology preached by Islam. If Kerala is 50% Muslim and Christian, it is because of caste. The conversion of low caste Hindus, especially in states like Tamil Nadu, is defacing the culture face of India, thanks to caste system. The only reason why there is no formal conversion into Hinduism from outside is due to its abhorrent caste order. Suppose a Christian or a Muslim wants to convert into Hinduism, the immediate problem before him or her would be the question to what caste would he be ultimately tagged.

The people in the lower caste ladder, who make the bulk of India, would never support a caste based society. If they now accept caste identity, it is for crushing the dominance of upper castes and to claim their rightful share in an unjust social order. If the political system of the country has been corrupted, it is because of the caste based politics which includes all castes. Caste remains the bed rock of corruption, disintegration and disunity of India. I feel the people who utter words in support of a caste based society, past or present, should be banished to Antarctica, where they should be buried deep under the Ice Mountains to die there. Probably, it is the only way if the Indian society is to be cleansed from this evil avatar of discrimination and domination. The atrocities that were committed on the poor people of India in the name of caste and untouchability are horrendous and a tale bigger than Mahabharata and Ramayana put together.

Just a few decades ago, the so called lower castes in Kerala had to jump off the road and hide behind bushes if a higher caste person comes from either side of the road. Then they began a Satyagraha. It is called Vaikkam Satyagraha, in which Mahatma Gandhi also took part. The Satyagraha, one should remember, was not for entry of lower castes into a temple, but for the right to walk on the road near a temple. It was much later temple entry for the lower castes was allowed by a government decree. Almost the same period, there was another sinful caste tradition in Kerala. If a lower caste woman has to cover her nakedness, she had to pay tax to the king. It was known as ‘mulakkaram’ – tax for covering woman’s breast. Both lower caste women and men were not allowed to wear proper clothes in the society of higher castes.

Once, a self respecting lady from Alappuzha cut her breast and gave it to the collectors of breast-tax, in a platter. Today she is worshipped as a local deity in Alapuzha. Such were the atrocities inflicted upon the people by the Brahmin-Kshatriya combine in the country. If there is a darkest history of India, that begins with the caste system, which made the country corrupt, disunited and ultimately a slave to other barbarians from outside. No civilized society will tag human beings as inferior and superior on the basis of birth in poor social conditions which itself is the byproduct of an unjust social order. And funnily enough, some of you may like to offer final libations to this social evil by karma theory.

What all crimes the wily priests have committed against the poor people in Kerala and elsewhere in the country by way of taboos, rites and rituals! A lower caste woman during her seventh month of pregnancy was to be fed with tamarind, while the Brahmins fed their pregnant women with honey and milk. The consumption of tamarind during the seventh month of pregnancy will ensure the birth of a dark and brainless child. At the time of the menstruation of women in a Brahmin family, they would celebrate it in a unique way. A rice pudding (poriyada) would be made and the menstruated woman would be made to sit on it ceremoniously. After that this pudding would be given to the Sudras, mostly Nairs working as servants in their households. Those who partake of the pudding would never have BrahmaJnana, it is said. Fortunately, all these black rituals have stopped now by the initiatives of reformers like Sri Narayana Guru.

Another obnoxious tradition was the observance of ‘pitru tarpanam’ which the Sudras were supposed to do on the most inauspicious dark month of the year (karkidaka), at the most inauspicious time of Amavasya (dark moon day), while the Brahmins did it on pournami, the full moon day of a most auspicious month. By doing pitru tarpanam during amavasya, the influences of dark forces will be extremely high and the ancestral souls of the Sudras would ever remain hooked with dark spirits in hellish regions. The twice-borns of Kerala used all dirty tricks to keep the Sudras under subjection. Is this system one is eulogizing about? Every version of caste theory should be sickening to a civilized society.

Caste system is allowed to continue here because a few people could feel superior to their unfortunate brethren, who are made up of the same blood. But no one would commit such a crime against their own brethren. So it has been committed by a people whose blood is not purely Indian. One cannot deny the fact that the caste system was institutionalized by a people who had different blood in their vein than Indian. So it is also racism which is behind the perpetuation of caste theory. And racism is a crime. Let no right thinking Hindus ever support or justify caste system, because it would be equal to supporting racism and an unjust social order which will further weaken India and the cause of Hinduism.

However, Hindus generally continue to remain carefree enjoying the sumptuous feast of caste, cricket and corruption. They sleep in the mansion of an old bygone era, remaining oblivious to the spiritual transformation taking place around the globe in the new age of Kali. Is India again heading for a disaster much worst than it had endured during the past thousand years? Probably yes, if Hindus do not wake up. Their dream castle might crumble any time if they do not remain alert and truly dharmic, not in words, but by deeds. The endless talk on caste and the vain glory of Hindu culture would not yield any practical good. Also Hindus cannot prosper ridiculing other religions while they themselves are subject to ridicule because of their allegedly philistine exclusivist character not in true sync with the tenets of Sanatana Dharma.

The Conversion of a Christian Marxist

Gurucharanam Saranam

The Conversion of a Christian Marxist

Mukundan P.R.

Even a hardcore Marxist has a thirsting space in his heart for God. A heretic may not have a place among the believing flock, but certainly God has a door for him too in his kind kingdom. Sri Andrews was a hardcore Marxist and a heretic. He never went to a church when be became conscious of its institutional character. He objected to all forms of institutionalized religion. But I do not think it was a rebellion against God. In his heart of heart he might have yearned for the light of God, for he searched for Truth around him and in the lap of nature. He broke all conventions of the society, traditions and beliefs. Though an orthodox Christian of higher caste origin, he opted for a backward caste Hindu woman as his life partner. The history of his ancestors, as far as I could understand, goes back to the first century of Christ, when one of Christ’s apostles, St. Thomas arrived in Kerala and converted the Nambudiri Brahmins at Palayoor, a place near Guruvayur temple. St. Thomas outwitted the Brahmins by performing a miracle. Even now the remains of their temple and pond are to be found here alongside the Church. Today, these Christians are a prosperous group in Kerala, well educated and controlling most of the business. Some of these Christians display a heretic and eccentric character and hold Hindu customs and beliefs in good esteem. As if an atonement for their ancestors’ deed, a few of them had done commendable service for the promotion of Sanskrit and Vedic studies in Kerala.

Now coming back to the story of Sri Andrews, he showed exemplary qualities in his child hood. He was brilliant in his studies and was liked by his family and friends because of his socializing nature. He always took up leadership when there was a crisis. There was a temple just in front of his house at Karamukku, near Trichur. The temple was a famous one because Sri Narayana Guru, the well known spirito-social reformer of Kerala himself had lighted the lamp in the temple. Andrews and his friends, mostly belonging to the Ezhava community in the locality spent their leisure in the temple precincts, exchanging jokes. They vied with each other for receiving prasadam from the temple, mostly boiled chana, during prayer times. Good old times, when the religious bug did not shatter peace in the community. Even now, unlike many other societies, the Hindus, Christians and Muslims in Kerala live like a close knit family. Their roots are so much twined together. Jihadists and religious fundamentalists are like murky evil spirits out to spoil the peace of humanity.

Sri Andrews was strongly influenced by Marxian ideology. and has a Masters degree in Arts. He joined government service and became a Joint Secretary in the Kerala Secretariat. He encountered corruption, official lethargy and a general moral decadence in the society. His utopia about a socialist society soon crumbled. It left him with bitterness. Having lost his bed of ideology, be began to wander aimlessly. He tried to find tranquility by drinking heavily. In those days he came across some books on spirituality. He found flashes of wisdom in the books of Jiddu Krishnamurthi and Ramana Maharshi. Once he went to Sivagiri Mutt at Varkala. His wife was his constant companion in his wanders. A steadfast wife, both in sorrow and happiness, is an asset in one’s life.

On the way there to the Mutt, he felt repulsed by the brewing industry flourishing in the area. He had been a mild boozer himself, so he could feel the cursed air which did not blend well with the precinct of a sage. He continued to visit some more ashrams. He was not, however, satisfied. His derailed life continued without any hope of peace. There was now the shortage of money. Wealth deserts one whose coffers of virtue are empty. The search of Andrews was for the key to the coffers of virtue and peace.

He had two little sons and he occasionally visited Santhigiri Ayurveda Hospital which belonged to Santhigiri Ashram at Pothencode, for consultation. One day the doctor, a devotee of the Guru, invited him to visit the Ashram. So he went to see the Guru with the company of his wife. For him, the Guru looked like a respected elder in a joint family. Sri Andrews did not show any spiritual mannerisms nor did he enter the prayer hall, for he disliked religious rituals, not only of his own religion but of others too.

When they were about to leave, a woman ascetic of the Guru called his wife aside and talked to her for a few moments. He waited a few yards away. When she joined him, he enquired what the yellow clad sanyasini had been talking to her. Her revelation presently astonished him. The sanyasini had revealed that some close relative in his family had a sad death and the influence of that soul was weighing down on him heavily and that he had to do something about it. This was startling information for him, because he had a sister who committed suicide, while she was just about to enter the order of nuns in a Christian Mission.

The revelation of the sanyasini about his life made him serious. There is some peculiarity in this Ashram, he thought. However, being a rational man, he began to think and find out in what all ways the soul of his sister was influencing him. He found quite a few things which proved the influence. Important among them was the special feeling he had towards nuns, whenever he met one. Whenever any nun came to the Secretariat for any job, he would go out of his way to get their work done. He almost became a maniac those moments. Having now convinced of the influence, he tried to banish the affinity towards nuns and all other things related to his sister. At the same time, he repeated his visit to the Ashram.

Now for the first time, he began to listen whenever Guru spoke to the assembled people. The words of Guru, like liquid light, flooded the dark interiors of his soul, revealing beyond a world of pure spiritual joy and brilliance. He was so much magnetized by the baptizing words of Guru that he often took leave from the office to listen to Guru in the Ashram. It continued until the cloak of ignorance was slowly lifted up from his soul. His inside now was illumined and enthused with the wisdom of a rare kind.

One day, as usual, he came to the Ashram straight from the office. Since he was late, he thought that Guru would have begun his talk. He had wished to join the Guru from the start. When he entered the Ashram, the place looked deserted. All must have gone to attend Guru’s talk, he thought. He wanted a white dhoti to go to Guru’s hall. He was in trousers and normally people never went to Guru’s room in western dress. So he waited there with distress, hoping that somebody would come there soon for his rescue. After a few moments, Sri Rajan Varghese (now Swami Guru Nishchaya Jnana Tapaswi, another Christian convert to Gurumargam) came in front of Sri Andrews. He said that Guru had sent him saying that somebody was waiting here for a dhoti. When he saw Sri Andrews standing there, he understood, who Guru had meant.

Sri Rajan Varghese brought the dhoti and Sri Andrews quickly went inside. Guru had not begun speaking. He began only when Andrews came in and joined the group. With moistened eyes, Sri Andrews bowed in front of the Guru. The unfailing grace of the all knowing Guru melted the heart of the hardcore Marxist. An unending stream of faith and love now began flowing from the sluices of his starved heart. He became a dove in the kingdom of God, winging its way above the marvelous ocean of spiritual bliss. Andrews’s conversion was total, not with swords, nor with miracles, nor with the promise of heaven or the threats of last judgment. True conversion takes place through the experience of love. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru did not convert people, but only their hearts.

Soul’s Separation from its Primal Source

Gurucharanam Saranam

Soul’s Separation from its Primal Source

Mukundan P.R.

Sri Shivashankaran’s mother-in-law eyed him with a frown. ‘Touch the feet of the Swami’, she ordered. Shivashankaran was not familiar with such customs. He had visited temples and bowed in front of deities there. But this was a human being that too not attired like the swamis he had seen and heard about. Also the unpleasant comments from the people he came across on their way bothered him. It was in the late sixties. Shivashankaran, a tall healthy man, whose family lived near Pothencode, was a bus conductor with KSRTC. While he was on duty for long hours, his wife and mother-in-law along with his children used to visit a Swami at Pothencode. They never informed him about this virtuous ‘misconduct’ fearing that he would raise objections.

Most of the people at Pothencode disliked swamis and ashrams those days. In Marxian Kerala, ashrams and swamis have a disdainful existence rather than a proud and respectful one. The public looks at them with a suspicious eye. Shivashankaran’s brother and relatives were no exception to this. However, Shivashankaran had an open mind and would not mind meeting a swami and listening to some ancient tales from the puranas - it would be a good riddance from his cumbersome job as a bus conductor. So he decided to go along with his mother-in-law when one day she asked him to accompany her to the Ashram. However, doubt and apprehension kept creeping up in his mind because some people at Pothencode made some unsavory comments about the Swami while they were on their way to the Ashram. His mother-in-law gave him courage saying that the comments were about some other people. He swallowed both her comments and that of the public and decided to follow her.

The slender track to the spot where the Swami had set up his Ashram was less travelled by people. Pothencode itself had very few shops those days. A very isolated and feared area was it surrounded by forests and wild animals. Human habitation was scarce. On this track to the Ashram, they encountered few jackals prying in the area. But when they reached near the Ashram, suddenly the air became calm and serene. The mother-in-law had carried with her a small parcel of raw rice for the Swami. Her family ran a provision shop. Every time she visited the Swami, she took something or the other from the shop for the Swami as a token of her devotion.

Shivashankaran saw nobody in the Ashram as they entered. A small hut made of mud and bamboo stood there. It was the prayer place. Adjacent to it was another small thatched shed. The ground was full of sharp stones and they pierced the feet of Shivashankaran. He groaned at every step as he moved forward. Suddenly a man came out from the hut. Shivashankaran stayed rooted to his feet for a few moments, because the man was unusually beautiful. His body shone like the sun. Such brilliance he had never observed in any human being before. The mother-in-law said to him that this was the Swami as she walked towards him. She handed over the parcel to Shivashankaran for a moment to touch her head at the feet of the Swami. She stood up and asked him to do the same. He folded his hands and handed over the parcel to the Swami. He was little reluctant to do what his mother-in-law did - touch his head at Swami’s feet. The Swami understood his mind and said, ‘it is enough you do it standing’. But mother-in-law insisted. So he stood on his knees and touched the feet of the Swami. As though electrified, he gripped the Swami’s feet tightly. He now felt the expanse of a tranquil ocean and a lotus in it. In the lotus was the figure of the Swami. His grip became stronger at the feet. His mother-in-law said it was enough. But he could not take his hand out from the Swami’s feet and remained there. At last the Swami asked him to get up. He got up and looked. A huge celestial figure was standing in front of him touching the vault of heaven. Completely baffled Shivashankaran trembled and began to cry. Uncontrollable tears welled up in his eyes and flowed down the cheeks. His heart was pounding with spasms of joy with an under current of sorrow, for it was the moment of soul’s realization of its long separation from its primal source.

He and his mother-in-law were led away from the presence of Guru by a sole person present in the Ashram that time with the Swami. As time went by, the disciples and devotees of the Swami began to address him as Guru. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru was not just a swami, people realized. The person who attended Shivashankaran and his mother-in-law brought a piece of boiled tapioca as Prasadam. He told them with visible regret that there was nothing else in the Ashram to eat for the day. One piece was kept for the Swami’ and the other piece, three of them shared. That was their lunch that day. While narrating this to me, Sri Shivashankaran suddenly broke down and began to sob. Obviously, old memories of Guru flooded him. Today Santhigiri Ashram serves square meals to thousands of people three times daily. Behind it is the sacrifice Guru underwent in life. After retirement, now Shivashankaran serves in the Ashram dedicating his soul to the Guru and the mission which Guru began for the spiritual renaissance of India as well as of the whole world.