Hinduism is the Most Respected Religion: March 2011

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Uploaded by SanathanDharma on Jan 9, 2008

For a long time I wondered what the significance of '786' is?

I've seen it in a lot of email addresses from people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

I couldn't believe it when I read, it might have been derived from Sanskrit numerals.

I went ahead and did some research.

Here is my explanation!

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News & Politics

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seven8six 786 meccah mecca hajj pilgrimage five pillars nasheed muslim islam daze studios meem music India

HINDUISM -- SCIENTIFICALLY proven RELIGION (part 2 of 3)

Uploaded by anticonversion on Dec 5, 2007

I CHALLENGE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PREJUDICES TOWARDS HINDUISM TO WATCH THIS FULL VIDEO (ALL 3 PARTS).

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A vast number of statements and materials presented in the ancient Vedic literatures can be shown to agree with modern scientific findings and they also reveal a highly developed scientific content in these literatures. The great cultural wealth of this knowledge is highly relevant in the modern world. Techniques used to show this agreement include:

Marine Archaeology of underwater sites (such as Dvaraka)

Satellite imagery of the Indus-Sarasvata River system

Carbon and Thermoluminiscence Dating of archaeological artifacts

Scientific Verification of Scriptural statements

Linguistic analysis of scripts found on archaeological artifacts

A Study of cultural continuity in all these categories.

http://devavision.org/videos.html

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HINDUS, SIKHS, JAINS AND BUDDHISTS BELIEVE THAT ALL RELIGIONS ARE DIFFERENT PATHS TO REACH THE SAME GOD, JUST LIKE ALL DIFFERENT RIVERS MEET THE SAME SEA. IT IS IGNORANCE TO BELIEVE THAT MY RELIGION IS THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION, ONLY THE FOLLOWERS OF MY RELIGION WILL GO TO PARADISE AND ALL OTHERS WILL NOT.

WE BELIEVE THAT ALLAH, JEHOVAH, BRAHMAN, ISHWARA, RAM, RAHIM AND BHAGWAN ARE ALL BUT DIFFERENT NAMES FOR THE SAME "SUPREME BEING".

Several Schools of philosophies are allowed in Hinduism - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14i0XqQQRsg

The description of God in Hinduism (Upanishad - Hindu Scripture) -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTfEXfA7OAs

Jesus was from India and learnt from the Indian spiritual masters -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DXCZFRsyl8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aauXxuLHnQ

Prophet Mohammed was a Hindu -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GNciSqoz1U

Answering Idol Worship/Polytheism in Hinduism -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fhq8pQ2RWY

HINDUISM -- SCIENTIFICALLY proven RELIGION (part 1 of 3)

Uploaded by anticonversion on Dec 5, 2007

I CHALLENGE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PREJUDICES TOWARDS HINDUISM TO WATCH THIS FULL VIDEO (ALL 3 PARTS).

------------------------------------

Marine Archaeology of underwater sites (such as Dvaraka)

Satellite imagery of the Indus-Sarasvata River system

Carbon and Thermoluminiscence Dating of archaeological artifacts

Scientific Verification of Scriptural statements

Linguistic analysis of scripts found on archaeological artifacts

A Study of cultural continuity in all these categories.

http://devavision.org/videos.html

-----------------

WE BELIEVE THAT ALLAH, JEHOVAH, BRAHMAN, ISHWARA, RAM, RAHIM AND BHAGWAN ARE ALL BUT DIFFERENT NAMES FOR THE SAME "SUPREME BEING".

Several Schools of philosophies are allowed in Hinduism - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14i0XqQQRsg

The description of God in Hinduism (Upanishad - Hindu Scripture) -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTfEXfA7OAs

Jesus was from India and learnt from the Indian spiritual masters -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DXCZFRsyl8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aauXxuLHnQ

Prophet Mohammed was a Hindu -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GNciSqoz1U

Answering Idol Worship/Polytheism in Hinduism -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fhq8pQ2RWY

Intellectual terrorism:part 4 (a must watch)

Uploaded by defenderofHindus on Jan 13, 2009

a seminar by Radha Rajan

Category:

Education

Tags:

hinduism3

Intellectual terrorism:part 3 (a must watch)

Uploaded by defenderofHindus on Jan 13, 2009

a seminar by Radha Rajan

Category:

Education

Tags:

hinduism3

Intellectual terrorism:part 2 (a must watch)

Uploaded by defenderofHindus on Jan 13, 2009

this seminar is given by Srimati Radha Rajan in Calicut, she is editor of vigil-online

Category:

Education

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hinduism3

Intellectual terrorism:part 1(a must watch}

Uploaded by defenderofHindus on Dec 19, 2008

suppression of Hinduism

Category:

Education

Tags:

hinduism

Intellectual terrorism:part 6 (a must watch)

Intellectual terrorism:part 5 (a must watch}

How True and the Best Lecture I have ever heard. like to hear more and more.

Keep Up the good work Srimati Radha Rajan.

Intellectual terrorism:part 4 (a must watch)

Hindus let this be a warning to you, we need to set our cultural diferences aside and UNITE in order to maintain this wonderful religion..Hinduism. And this is coming from a 16 year old so you have no excuses!!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Language and Dialect – 1 (Discourse 7) by Shrii Shrii A'nandamu'rti -Varńa Vijinána

Language and Dialect –

Language and Dialect – 1 (Discourse 7) by Shrii Shrii A'nandamu'rti -Varńa Vijinána

Many people have the conception that the language of a tribe is a dialect. In Hindi it is called boli. Many persons call or used to call dialects bhákhá (not as Yajurvedic pronunciation) out of contempt. Kabir has said: Saḿskrta kúpodaka bhákhá bahatá niir – in other words, the Sanskrit language is like stagnant well water and the people’s language is like the flowing water of a river, that is, full of vitality. This people’s language proceeds forward and moves on while the so-called refined languages, bound by the fetters of rules and regulations, dos and don’ts, modestly and tremblingly move ahead at a snail’s pace. A few hundred years ago the Yajurvedic style of pronunciation was still in vogue in the Aryan languages of north India. Śa used to be pronounced like kha. Even today the word kśama is pronounced khamá in Panjabi.

The point is, wherein lies the essential difference between a language and a dialect? Every dialect comes within the periphery of one language or another. Actually a language is the conglomerate of a certain number of dialects. The substance of the matter is that under no circumstances do we have the right to turn up our nose at a dialect, considering it to be unrefined or deprived of a glorious lineage. Even if its lineage has no glory or has disappeared, from the existential point of view it is worthy enough. Often we can become acquainted with the nature of the movement of more than one language through the study of a particular dialect. Take, for example, the “Kacchii” language. Gujarati comes from Málavii Prákrta and Sindhii comes from Pahlavii Prákrta. This Kacchii language or dialect is a sweet blending of the Gujarati and Sindhii languages. We can easily understand or become familiar with the natural differences between Gujarati and Sindhii through the study of Kacchii. Similarly, when we travel from Kishanganj to Purnea we come across an area whose language is called Shiripuriyá (Shriipuriyá). It has arisen as a mixture of Bengali and Angika. In the area lying between Bokaro and Hazaribagh we find Khot́t́á Bengali which is a mixture of Bengali and Magahii. If one goes from Haludpukur towards Báripadá the linguistic river basin that one comes across on both banks is known as Kerá Bengali. In this Kerá Bengali we find a peculiar union between northern Oriya and Rarhi Bengali. In Bengali we say ámi jete párba ná [I will not be able to go]; in Kerá Bengali one says mui jáitye párim nái. If you travel still further east it becomes ámi jete párbuni. This spoken language continues up to Uluberia. This is called a “dialect”. In Oriya, if the first person singular is páribi then the plural form is páribu, however in Kerá Bengali there is no difference between the singular and the plural.

Most languages have more than one dialect. Bengali has twelve different dialects:

1) Central Rarh Bengali: Dumka of Santal Paragańá, Jamtara, Deoghar, Birbhum District with the exception of Nalhati and Murari, from Durgapur to Asansol in Burdwan District, Bankura District with the exception of Indash Thana, northeast Singhbhum District, Dhanbad and certain areas of Giridi and Ranchi Districts, and Midnapore District with the exception of the Contai region.

2) Contai dialect: From the mouth of the Rasulpur River to the mouth of the Suvarnarekha River.

3) Calcutta Bengali: Calcutta, 24 Paraganas, Hooghly, and Howrah District with the exception of Uluberia subdivision.

4) Nadia Bengali: Nadia District, Burdwan’s Kalna subdivision, Birpur, Naihati and the southern portion of east Murshidabad.

5) Shershahbadia or Maldaiya or Jaungiipurii Bengali: Most parts of Murshidabad District, the Pakuŕ and Rajmahal subdivisions of Santal Pargana, Maldah District, Barsoi, the Ajmangar area and a some eastern areas of Katihar District, west Dinajpur’s Dalkola, and Rajshahi District’s Nawabganj subdivision. This dialect has a very beautiful pronunciation and a unique intonation or manner of speaking.

6) Barendrii Bengali: Rajshahi District with the exception of Nawabganj subdivision, the western portion of Pabna District, the southern portion of Dinajpur District, the northern part of Kusthia District, and the southern part of Baguŕa District.

7) Rangpuri Bengali: Rangpur District, Dinajpur District, West Dinajpur District, Coochbihar District, Jalpaiguri District, the plains of Darjeeling District, a few parts of Purnea District, certain portions of Baguŕa District, Assam’s Goalpara, and Nepal’s Jhanpa District.

8) Sylhet Bengali: Sylhet, Kachar, Karimganj, Kumilla District and the plains of the Khasia-Jayantia Hills.

9) Dacca or Vikrampurii Bengali: Dacca District, Faridpur District and Pabna District’s eastern areas.

10) Jessore Bengali: Jessore District, Khulna District and Faridpur’s Gopalganj subdivision.

11) Barisal or Candradviipii Bengali: Barisal District, Khulna District’s Bagerhat subdivision, Faridpur District’s Madaripur subdivision and Patuakhali District.

12) Chittagong Bengali: All of Chittagong District except for the southern areas and some parts of Noakhali District.

As I said before, most languages have dialects. It must be borne in mind that not all the languages of particular tribes or communities are dialects; some of them are separate languages also. It is perfectly acceptable to entitle the language of five hundred people as a full-fledged language. By the same token the language of a million or more people may be considered a dialect.

Now the question arises – what is the fundamental difference between a language and a dialect? Roughly speaking there are eight conditions that must be fulfilled in order to be considered a language, much like an eight-legged cot. These eight are: 1) own vocabulary, 2) pronouns, 3) verb-endings, 4) case-endings, 5) oral or written literature, 6) style of intonation, 7) psycho-acoustic and inferential acoustic notes, and 8) syntax.

Vocabulary: The meaning of vocabulary [shabda sambhára] is “a collection of words”. Every language has to have its own vocabulary. Now, how do words come into existence? In the beginning, unrefined verbs were fashioned from qualitative sounds. Nouns, adjectives and the different verbal expressions – prefixes and suffixes – were created from verbs after the refinement of those first verb forms. Pronouns and indeclinables were not created from verbs. They were produced from psycho-acoustic notes. In English, indeclinables are commonly called prepositions and conjunctions. Apart from this, the word “do” in English is often used in place of a specific verb. For example: “As I see, so I do”. Instead of using the verb “see” a second time, “do” performs its function. The old English grammarians used to consider this “do” to be a “pro-verb” but nowadays it is no longer considered as such. Anyhow, both pronouns and indeclinables come from acoustic notes. Ámi [I], tumi [you (familiar)] and ápani [you (respectful)] come from áhme, tuhme and appana. There is a Buddhist lyric written about twelve hundred years ago in which we find these lines:

Áhme ńa jánahun acinta joi

Jáma marańa bhava kaisana hoi

[When there is no existence of bhava the idea of birth and death is confusing. We do not understand that entity which is beyond the concept of duality.]

Vocabulary is created from psycho-acoustic notes and inferential acoustic notes. For example, the vibration created when a person’s eyes come in contact with something white is similar to words such as dhapdhap [white, bright]. From this comes the expression dhavdhave sádá [bright white]. Kán kat́kat́ karche [The ear is throbbing – literally “doing kat́kat́”]. Now is the ear here actually doing kat́ kat́ kat́ kat́? No, rather the vibration in the nerves is similar to the sound kat́ kat́; from this evolved the word kat́kat́. Thus we see that in the beginning there is a sound denoting a certain quality and from that the word is created.

The size or measurement of a vocabulary does not remain static. As a result of mutual interchange and mixing between people, words from the vocabulary of one region enter the vocabulary of another. Many Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, English, Portuguese and French words have entered Bengali in this way. It is futile to try to keep these words out, nor is there anything to be gained by it.

The meaning of the English word “head” is máthá. One whose head is confused or has had their head turned is often called be-hed. The be of behed is a Farsi prefix and hed is an English word. Similar is the case with the word jimkháná. The word jim comes from the English word “game” and the Farsi suffix kháná has been added to it. In this way the word gemkháná became jemkháná and in subsequent times it was transformed into jimkháná. In Arabic the pronunciation of ga and ja can be substituted for each other. For example, gawáhir → jawáhir.

A word that is very well known to us is átá [custard-apple]. Many people believe that átá may be a Bengali word but actually it is not. The Portuguese first planted the átá tree when they came to Bandel about four hundred and fifty years ago. Átá is a Portuguese word.

The Bengali word acára [pickle] comes from the Portuguese word acár. In Sanskrit there is a word ácára that means “behaviour”. The Portuguese brought their fruit acár to this country and it became ácár in Bengali – for example, mango acára, tamarind ácár, and so on.

In this way a vocabulary grows through the give and take of words between languages. Having one’s own vocabulary is one special characteristic of a language. In a dialect the vocabulary is very small and in some very poor dialects it practically does not exist at all.

Now a language’s vocabulary provides a mirror that reflects just how far any particular community has progressed in this world in terms of human culture and human civilization. There are some communities whose language contains only about eight hundred and fifty words while the language of highly developed apes contains around seven hundred and fifty words. Hence there is very little difference between the vocabulary of the least advanced human communities and the most highly advanced ape communities. Even bird languages have their own vocabulary. If birds are eating rice and by chance a person happens by then one bird will start calling out ka, ka which means “flee, flee” and they all fly away. Birds and animals have vocabulary but not verbs.

Bengali has approximately 125,000 words. From the standpoint of vocabulary this is a matter of pride, however, Sanskrit, Latin, English, French and German have much larger vocabularies. Hence there is a need to further enrich the Bengali vocabulary. For that new words will have to be created. In one Prabhat Samgiita song the word právrt́ has been used to mean “heavy rains”. The word právrt́ is originally a Vedic word that is no longer in use. Not only does the language become sweeter by using this word but the vocabulary is also increased. This vocabulary is one of the prerequisites for being considered a language.

Another thing to be considered in the case of vocabulary is the use of nominal verbs. Although these nominal verbs are verb forms they are created by making a word causative (according to the Sanskrit rule, nominal verbal roots follow the átmanepadii conjugation). For example, se gayáy neŕáte giyechila [He went to Gaya for a shave]. Here neŕá hate is understood, thus neŕáte is a nominal verb. The village people of Burdwan say se kablácche ná, that is, se kabul karche ná [he doesn’t admit]. Here kablácche is a nominal verb. An example from Sanskrit is sah rámáyate (átmanepadii), that is, “he is repeating ‘Rám, Rám’.” Here rámáyate is a nominal verb. Niraste pádape deshe erańd́o’pi drumáyate. It means: Even the castor oil plant becomes a great tree where there are no other big plants. The meaning of drumáyate is druma druma iti karoti. Here drumáyate is a nominal verb.

The use of nominal verbs is not very common in Bengali, however one Bengali writer who did use nominal verbs extensively was Michael Madhusudan Dutta. Pravesh karilá → praveshilá; árambha karilá → árambhilá. Michael used these and other verbals quite often in his poetic compositions. Nominal verbs are also used in Hindi. For example, the Hindi equivalent of the Bengali ámáke khub dhikkár diyechila [He scolded me roundly] is mujhe dhikráyá.

Anyhow, the use of nominal verbs enriches a language’s vocabulary. In India there are many languages which are called dialects but which, when considered from the point of view of vocabulary, certainly deserve more respect.

Pronouns: All languages have their own pronouns. Pronouns, such as the Bengali pronouns ámi, tumi and ápani, are created from psycho-acoustic notes. English has the pronouns “thou”, “you”, and so forth, while in Bengali the pronouns o, uni, ini are used when the person is present and se, tini, jini when the person is not present. Formerly “thou” was used in English when the person was present and “you” when the person was not present. In Rarhi Bengali se and tini are not currently used. In Rarhi Bengali one says: u ki ballek, u kutháke jábek, and so on. No language can be considered a separate language if it does not have its own pronouns. The language-ness of the language would cease to exist. Hence pronouns are very important from the standpoint of linguistic recognition.

All the languages which were recognized by the Indian constitution have their own pronouns and many of the languages which were not accepted also have their own pronouns, for example, Angika, Maethilii, Magahii, Bhojpuri, Chattishgarii, etc. Although these languages are not recognized in India by the constitution, they deserve recognition and should be recognized. From the standpoint of linguistics they should be accepted as languages.

Bengali is an independent language. It has had its own pronouns for the past twelve hundred years. There is an early Buddhist lyric:

Appańe raci raci bhavanirváńá

Michá loye vandháboye apańá

[Usually people under the influence of avidyá (ignorance) confuse bhava and nirváńa but in reality the idea of dualism is misleading.]

Appane raci raci means “composing one’s self”. The Sanskrit third person singular bhaván became appan in old Bengali – in modern Bengali ápana → ápni. The Sanskrit second person singular tvam became tuhme and the Sanskrit first person singular aham became áhme from which comes the modern Bengali ámi – aham → ahammi → áhmi → áhme → ámi. Aham, bhaván and tvam have all developed from psycho-acoustic notes. There is a thirteen hundred year old Bengali verse:

Etakála hánu acchila samohe

Eve mai vujhilon guru sambohe

[Till now I was caught in the spell of moha or blind attachment but by the grace of guru I have come to realize the truth.]

Mai means ámi (singular); the plural form is áhme (ámrá). The old Bengali hánu comes from the Sanskrit aham. For example, aham mánuśaḿ khádiśyámi → ahammi mánuśaḿ kháiśyámi → hammi mánuśaḿ kháiámi → hánu mánu khánu.

The stories that are written nowadays about demons are written in modern Bengali but the demons are made to speak old Bengali. At any rate, Bengali has been using its own pronouns for the past twelve or thirteen hundred years.

At one time Bengali, Assamese, Maethilii, Oriya and so on were one language. They became separate languages about eight hundred and fifty years ago. Similarly, Telegu and Kannad were once the same language and so were Tamil and Malayalam. Subsequently Kannad pronunciation became similar to that of Tamil while Telegu did not undergo any change, thus the two languages separated. They are still written in the same script.

Tamil has very few Sanskrit words but Malayalam has incorporated many Sanskrit words and this is the reason it separated from Tamil. In Malayalam words of Sanskrit origin and words of Tamil origin are used side by side. The old Tamil word for “coconut” is teuṋgás from which we get the modern Tamil word teuṋgá. There are three words for coconut in Sanskrit – nárikela, nálikera and kera. In the spoken language of Calcutta we say narkol, for example, nárkol tel [coconut oil], nárkol náŕu [a coconut sweet], nárkol dáuṋgá [a high land where coconuts grow in abundance]. How does it sound if someone says nárkel? As if the gentleman perhaps comes from some small subdivision. If we add the verbal root la and the suffix d́a in Sanskrit to the word kera it forms the word kerala.(1) The meaning of the word kerala is “the land where coconuts grow in abundance”. In Malayalam the words teungá and nálikera are used side by side.

The native Bengali word gatara signifies “physical strength”. Educated urban dwellers say sháriirik sámarthya [physical strength] and the common people of the villages say gatara. Many people think that the word gatara comes from the Sanskrit word gátra [body] but this is incorrect. Gátra in Sanskrit → gátta in Prákrta → gáa in old Bengali → gá in modern Bengali. According to the rules of linguistic transformation, the word gá in Bengali comes from the Sanskrit word gátra, not the word gatara. Gatara is a native Bengali word.

Verb-endings: Verb-endings are one of the eight prerequisites for being a language. In Sanskrit lat’, lot’, laun, vidhiliun, lrt́, etc. are examples of different verb-endings. However, Sanskrit does not have a present continuous tense while most of the Indian languages do. The Hindi equivalent for “is doing” is kar rahá hae and the equivalent of “does” is kartá hae. However in Sanskrit karoti or kurute are used to signify both “is doing” and “does”. Some pandits are partial to using kurvannasti to indicate the continuous tense of the verb. In the material world what is uninterrupted or continuous is called “contiguous” and in the world of ideas the word “continuity” is used. For example, “Calcutta has territorial contiguity with Diamond Harbour”. “Continuity” indicates an abstract idea. For example, after one person gives a speech, another person is giving a speech. Here the word kurvannasti can be used to indicate “is giving”. For “is swimming across” we can use either tarati or tarannasti, however in this case the fundamental mental idea is not properly expressed. Thus in Bengali separate verb forms – kare, karche, kare caleche, etc. – are used. Hence in this respect Bengali is more expressive than Sanskrit. Bengali has its own speciality when it comes to linguistic continuity or material contiguity. In all the Indian languages that have developed from Prákrta we find greater or lesser use of a kind of sonorous word form to indicate the indicative, continuous tense. This is worth noting. For example, kariteche, kartá hae, karaita achi, kareiche, karuchi, kardii hae, and so on. The fundamental unity of these languages is expressed through these verb-endings. They also demonstrate that these languages come from the same source. From the verb-endings one can determine which language has developed from which Prákrta. This can be shown through examples of verb-endings. For example:

English: The economic prosperity of a country depends on its political independence.

Bengali: Kona desher arthanaetik unnati sei desher rájanaetik svádhiinatár upar nirbharshiil.

Hindi: Kisii deshkii arthanaetik unnati us deshkii rájanaetik svádhiinatá par nirbhar kartii hae.

Maethilii: Desh ka arthanaetik unnati okar rájanaetik svádhinatá par nirbhar karait achi.

Bhojpuri: Desh ka arthanaetik unnati okar rájanaetik svádhiinatá par nirbhar karelá.

Angika: Deshra (desh-ra-a) arthanaetik unnati okar rájanaetik svádhiinatá par nirbhar karaeche.

Magahii: Deshke arthanaetik unnati okare rájanaetik svádhiinatá par nirbhar karait he,

Marwarii: Deshrii arthanaetik unnati uskii (urii) rájanaetik svádhiinatá par nirbhar kareche.

Panjabi: Deshdii arthanaetik unnati usdii rájanaetik svádhiinatá pe nirbhar kardii hae.

We can see that all these Indian languages have more or less the same mode of expression. Urdu, however, expresses itself differently because it has a different vocabulary. Hence Urdu is not similar to other Indian languages in its expression or verb-endings. The aforementioned sentence in Urdu becomes:

Mulkkii ektasádii tarakkii uskii siiásii ázádii par makub hae.

A living language has to have its own characteristic verb-endings while dialects contain variations of these verb-endings. In a dialect you will not encounter clear-cut verb-endings. Rather you find verb forms that change according to the locality. In the different dialects of Bengali you come across different verb-endings such as yáivám, yámu, yáma, yábu, etc. For example:

Ámi lákho janár paráń dimure… – Barisal

Ámi báncibám mariyá… – Mymensing

Ámi káivám ná vái támuk káivám ná… – Mymensing

Thátu viśyuit áiváin… – Mymensing

Mui karbu ni… – Midnapore

All of these are local variations. None of them gives us a clear-cut picture.

One can deduce which Prákrta a language comes from by looking at the condition of its verb-endings. After the demise of the Vedic language in India seven different Prákrta languages came into existence. They were: Mágadhii, Shaorasenii, Paeshácii, Páshcáttya, Pahlavii or Saendhavii, Málavii and Maháráśt́rii.

1) Mágadhii Prákrta had two daughters – Eastern Demi-Mágadhii and Western Demi-Mágadhii. Eastern Demi-Mágadhii in turn had six daughters – Maethilii, Angika, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya and Koshalii. Western Demi-Mágadhii had four daughters – Magahii, Bhojpuri, Nagpuri and Chatrisgari.

2) Shaorasenii Prákrta – The area lying between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers used to be called Brahmávartta. Brahmávartta was its Sanskrit name. Its Farsi name was Do-áb. Another name for it was the Shúrasena Kingdom. Kaḿsa used to rule this part of India. Its capital was at Mathura. The old capital of the Shúrasena Kingdom used to be Vrśńipur which today is Vit́hur, near Kanpur. Vrśńipura → Viśt́iura → Viit́iura → Vit́t́hura → Vit́hur. The name Shaorasenii comes from Shúrasena. The languages that originated from Shaorasenii Prákrta are Avadhii, Bághelii, Bundelii, Vrajabhákhá and Hariyánavii.

In Mágadhii Prákrta, sha is pronounced but there is no separate pronunciation for sa and śa. Sa and śa are used for spelling purposes but they are both pronounced sha. For example, the word mási is spelt with sa but it is pronounced with palatal sha. Only Shaorasenii uses the pronunciation sa (das, tiis, so já, suno) but interestingly enough the name itself is spelt with sha.

3) Paeshácii Prákrta – D́ogrii, Panjabi and Páháŕii Panjabi (this language is commonly known as Páháŕii in Himachal Pradesh).

4) Páshcáttya Prákrta – Kashmiri, Pashto, Tazaki, Uzbeki, etc.

5) Pahlavii Prákrta or Saendhavii Prákrta – Sindhii and Múltánii (this comes from a mixture of Sindhii and Panjabi).

6) Málavii Prákrta – Málavii, Gujarati, Kacchii, Marwari, Mevárii and Haŕaotii.

7) Maháŕśtrii Prákrta – Marathi and Konkańii.

All of these languages have characteristic verb-endings and all of them have assimilated the Sanskrit vocabulary with ease. Ninety-three percent of the Bengali words we use have originated from Sanskrit. They are either Sanskrit borrowings, not distorted Sanskrit borrowings, or Sanskrit derivations, not half-Sanskrit derivations. The remainder are either native Bengali words or foreign words.

Oriya also contains about ninety percent Sanskrit words. Among the south Indian languages, Malayalam has about seventy-five percent Sanskrit words. Among non-Indian languages, the languages of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Thailand have an abundance of Sanskrit words.

The Bengali word kúyo [well] comes from the Sanskrit word kúpa. Indrakúpa → indraua → indárá → indárá [large masonry well]. The Panjabi word khui comes from the Sanskrit word khudikam; khui means “well” in Panjabi. The Panjabi word khánŕa comes from the Sanskrit word rasakhańd́a. Sugar is called khánŕa in Panjabi. Nowadays the first person verb-endings of all these languages follow the ti, tas, anti endings. For example: karoti → karai → kare.

Five thousand years ago we had ahaḿ grhaḿ gacchámi [I am going home]; in Prákrta it became ahammi garaham jacchámi; in old Bengali it became ámhe ghara e jáccheḿ; and in modern Bengali it is ámi ghare jácchi. This rule of transformation is similar to the rules of transformation which govern the scale in classical music. There is little scope for deviation. For this reason it is possible for erudite people to predict at this time what form a language will take after the next ten thousand years. The Kheyal style was evolved in the Mughal court to give some temporary relief from the rigidity of the scale usage in classical music. Although there is an opportunity for vocal play in Kheyal, in the end one has to return to the set scale usage. In Bengali it is said that the measure of the tied cow is the grass [bándhá garur mápá ghás] – it is the same in the case of the transformations that languages undergo.

In the Vedas there was a clearly discernible difference between the átmanepadii and parasmaepadii verb forms. In Laokika Sanskrit this difference diminished. In Prákrta the difference all but disappeared, and in the common languages of today there is no difference whatsoever. In Prákrta the átmanedpadii verb-endings e, vahe and mahe disappeared and became the parasmaepadii case-endings mi, vas, and mas. For example, the Sanskrit vidyate (átmanepadii) became vijjati (parasmaepadii) in Mágadhi Prákrta – na vijjati so jagatiikya desho. A few Sanskrit parasmaepadii verbal roots change into átmanepadii if they are preceded by a prefix, for example, jayati, jayatah, jayanti. If the prefix vi is added then they become the átmanepadii vijayate, vijayete, vijayante.

Prákrta was the language of the common people. The scholars of those days used to neglect this language and compose their literature in Sanskrit. For this reason this highly refined language was called “Sanskrit” which implies that it was not the people’s language; it was written by refining the people’s language.(2) However in Sanskrit drama there was the custom of having uneducated characters speak in Prákrta. Whereas an educated character would say ahaḿ they would have ahammi be spoken by the uneducated characters. Where an educated character would say vakra or vakrima, the uneducated characters would say vanka, vaḿká, vánká or vankima. When Krśńa would speak with Duryodhana he would use Sanskrit but when he spoke with the Pandavas he would speak in Shaorasenii Prákrta because he had a close relationship with the five Pandavas. The people of east Bengal say basun or boso [sit] when addressing an unknown person but they say baen or bao to someone they know, and so on.

Another name for Mágadhii Prákrta is Páli. The word páli comes from the word pallii. Pallii is not a Sanskrit word; it has been borrowed from Tamil. Many people are of the opinion that the word páli comes from the word pát́aliputra in the sense of Páli referring to the language of Pát́aliputra but this is incorrect. When pát́ali is transformed it becomes pád́ali → páŕali – not páli. Another error of this kind concerns Rájagira. In some people’s opinion the word rájagira comes from the word rájagrha but it does not. Rájagira comes from rájagiri (Royal Mountain). The city gets its name from its large size hills. Had it come from rájagrha then in accordance with the natural law of transformation it would have become rájagrha → rájagarha → rájaghara → rájaghar; it would not have become Rájagira. In the same way we get mudgagiri → mungagiri → mungir → munger.

Case Endings: Another condition for being a language is case-endings. Every language has its own case endings. In this respect most of the Aryan languages of India follow more or less the same rules. From Assamese to Pashto, from Oriya to Estonian, Romansch and Kazaki – all these languages are descendants of Sanskrit. All of them follow the same rules in regard to verb-endings. Among them only Bhojpuri uses different endings for svabhávártha and karańártha.(3) For example, Rám ka bhái paŕelá, that is, Ram’s brother studies, however he may now be doing something else. And Rám ka bhái paŕatá means that Ram’s brother is reading right now. Many people do not like to consider Bhojpuri a separate language but rather a dialect, however we can see that from a linguistic perspective Bhojpuri is a full-fledged language, not a dialect.

When direction is to be indicated in Rarhi Bengali and in Oriya then ke or ku is added to the end of the word. For example, gharke jába [I will go [to] home] in Rarhi and gharku jibi in Oriya. To say báŕii áche [he is in his house] one says gharare achanti in Oriya – existence is indicated in Oriya by re. In the Árámbág Bhádugán [a school of songs] we find: Sát bhádute jalke gela, ámár bhádu kunt́i go.

With English verb-endings we find that intransitive verbs undergo more change than transitive verbs. As regards mood, there is less change in the infinitive mood. Two other moods along with the subjunctive undergo somewhat more change. There are also changes in the auxiliary verbs.

The Scottish and English languages are very closely linked. In Scottish, however, the pronunciation of “r” and “l” is indistinct. For example, the Scottish people pronounce the English “gold” a bit like “gode”. The correct English pronunciation of the word “Edinburgh” is ed́inbárg while the Scottish pronunciation is ed́invará. The people of England have accepted the ed́invará pronunciation. Apart from these small differences the Scottish and English languages are practically the same. From the standpoint of pronunciation the Cornish language of England is somewhat similar to French. Had Cornish the nasalness of French it might have raised doubts over whose dialect it was.

Although both Wales’ Welsh and Ireland’s Irish languages were born from the Brighton language, they are both separate languages. Irish has both its own vocabulary and its own style of pronunciation. But since it is less influenced by Norman, it also shows less influence of Latin.

Some people mistakenly consider Cockney English to be a special dialect. Actually Cockney is a distorted pronunciation of English prevalent among London’s less educated people. In Bengal, for example, the spoken form of utsarga is ucchugyu and the spoken form of mahotsav is mocchav.

French is a composite of seventeen dialects. The spoken French that I heard being used in Geneva contained a good number of German words that I noticed were not being used in Paris.

I have been discussing a few things that concern linguistics. It should be borne in mind that don’ts are inextricably tied up with dos. If we take away “is” then “is not” cannot survive; if we take away “is not” then “is” does not have a leg to stand on. This is equally applicable in all cases so we will have to keep this in mind when it comes to linguistics. Whether or not I remember the original rule, the more I remember the exceptions (apaváda in Hindi) the better it will be. In English, for example, if a single vowel precedes a single consonant then the consonant becomes doubled if a suffix is added. Thus “fit” but “fitting”, “fitted,” and so on. Then there are exceptions as well. For example, “benefit”. In this case if a suffix is added after the “t” then the final “t” is not doubled.

Generally the letter “g” is pronounced like “j” when it is followed by “e”, “i” or “y”. Elsewhere it is a hard “g” sound. Similarly “c” is pronounced like “s” when it is followed by “e”, “i” or “y” and elsewhere like “k”. The word “jail” has two accepted spellings in English – “jail” and “gaol”. In the latter, however, the “g” is not followed by “e”, “i” or “y” but by “a”. Nevertheless it is pronounced like a “j”. This is also an exception.

Under normal conditions the English word “full” is spelled with two “l’s”, but if it forms the second half of a compound word then it has one “l”, that is, “ful”, for example, “beautiful”, “handful”, etc. In such a case this occurs because the relative importance of its pronunciation is lessened. Thus this will have to be accepted as a rule rather than an exception.

Many people mistakenly say that the English language does not have any rules and regulations. Such a conception is altogether false. There is a clear and elegant reply as to why “but” and “put” are pronounced differently. The word “but” is of Anglo-Saxon origin, thus the “u” is pronounced like ay, for example, “unfair”, “under”, etc. The word “put” is of Norman origin. Here the pronunciation of “u” is more like ayu, for example, “universal”, “unique”, “pecuniary”, and so forth.

Generally, things which do not grow in a certain country, or which are not available there, do not have names in the language of that country. Cherries do not grow in Bengal, thus there is no word for “cherry” in Bengali. Some things did not originally have a name but were given a name later on, for example, balgá hariń [reindeer], ut́pákhii [ostrich], etc. Some people, in order to show up the weakness of English, point out that it does not have a word for pat́ol. This is incorrect. Although pat́ol does not grow in England, it does have an English name – “wax gourd” or “squat gourd”.

31 July 1983, Calcutta

Footnotes

(1) Kerala is the name of the state in southern India where Malayalam is spoken. –Trans.

(2) Sanskrit literally means “refined”. –Trans.

(3) This difference refers to whether the verb is used for action [karańártha] or to denote the nature of the subject [svabhávártha]. For example, “he reads a book” is karańártha and “he reads in class five” (here the verb is used to indicate that he is a student) is svabhávártha. –Trans.

Shrii Shrii A'nandamu'rti

Varńa Vijinána

Requirements of an Ideal Constitution by Shrii P R Sarkar- A Few Problems Solved Part 8

Requirements of an Ideal Constitution by Shrii P R Sarkar- A Few Problems Solved Part 8

22 September 1986, Calcutta

Requirements of an Ideal Constitution

With the changes of the social cycle, the human society has developed several social institutions to carry out its duties and responsibilities. The state is one such vital institution which organizes a group of people in a certain area of land, rules them, promotes their welfare and oversees their good. This institution is powerful because it also enjoys sovereign power.

Accumulation of power is dangerous if it is not guided by some rules and basic principles. The guide book in which all such rules, regulations and principles for the proper conduct of a state are codified is called a constitution. A constitution guides a state with policies and principles to render all-round services to the people for their rapid progress.

The first written constitution was framed by the Licchavi Dynasty of Vaeshali (in northern Bihar) in ancient India over 2500 years ago. Prior to that, the words of the king were law and kings ruled according to the advice of their ministers. The first republican democracy was established by the Licchaviis. The Licchavi Republic comprised some portion of Muzzaffarpur, portions of Begusharai, Samastipur and Hajipur between the Gandaka and Kamala rivers, all in the present state of Bihar. It was the first democratic state and they had their own written constitution.

Differences Amongst Some Constitutions

There is no British constitution – it is only a collection of traditions and conventions and not a written document. The theoretical head is the crown queen or king. All power is vested with the crown but practically it is exercised by the prime minister in a parliamentary form of government. The French system is a presidential form of government where the president appoints the prime minister and all other ministers. The USA also has a presidential form of government. In France and the US there is a written constitution. In the US the president exercises power or rules the country through secretaries appointed by the president who is directly elected by the electorate. There are no ministers, only secretaries in the US system whereas there are ministers in the French system. When there is no ministry in Britain a lame-duck ministry is formed by the crown and the crown can head that ministry until a new parliament is elected. In India the president has no power and is only a signatory authority or rubber stamp. The Indian president cannot even head a caretaker government. The Indian prime minister can remove the president but the president cannot remove the prime minister. Although the prime minister is powerful according to the constitution, he or she is not directly elected by the electorate, that is, by the people. The prime minister is elected only as a member of parliament and then is made prime minister by the party.

The US presidential form of government is a better form of government, but there is a shortcoming in the US constitution and that is that individual rights are given maximum scope: this leads to an unrestrained capitalist order. Now India is also going to suffer the same disease and this is leading to regionalism. Too much individual freedom should be curtailed in an ideal form of government. PROUT will introduce social controls so that collective interests will be supreme. In the US constitution purchasing power is not guaranteed to the people. The best form of government is the presidential form where the president is elected directly by the electorate and there is less individual liberty.

Common Constitutional Defects

Everyone has the right to physical, mental and spiritual development. But all constitutions have been written in such a way that they do not ensure the all-round welfare of all citizens. A constitution should be fair and just. The least bias on the part of the framers towards any particular ethnic, linguistic or religious group may undermine the unity and solidarity of the concerning country and thus disturb the peace and prosperity of the society as a whole.

Judged from this perspective some of the defects of the Indian constitution are easily discernible. India should have a new constitution to establish unity in diversity in a multilingual, multi-social and multi-national country.

While drafting the constitution of a country the framers should keep in mind the population structure of the concerning country. The population of India is a blended population of the Austric, Mongolian, Negroid and Aryan races. But the Indian constitution, due to inherent defects, has not helped establish social amity, cultural legacy, equality and unity among these races. As a result fissiparous tendencies have developed in the country.

There are several fiscal and psychological loopholes in the Indian constitution. The fiscal loopholes include the following. First, there is no check on unbarred capitalist exploitation. This is because the leaders of the independence struggle did not give any economic sentiment to the people. The only sentiment was an anti-British sentiment. Thus the independence struggle was only a political movement and not an economic movement. After 1947 instead of white exploitation, brown exploitation emerged. 1947 brought only capitalist political liberty but not economic freedom. As a result, unbarred economic exploitation continues today.

Secondly, the constitution gives no guarantee for increasing the purchasing capacity of every individual. Thirdly, the president has no constitutional power to check financial or fiscal matters. The Indian economy is controlled by a few business houses through some chambers of commerce. The president has no constitutional power to check either the price level or the degree of exploitation. Neither the president nor the prime minister can check these. Fourthly, there is no provision for inter-block planning for socio-economic development. Fifthly, there is no clear concept of balanced economy.

The psychological loopholes in the Indian constitution include the following. The first is the imposition of a regional language as the national language. English imperialism has been followed by Hindi imperialism. Hindi is only one of many regional languages. The selection of one such regional language as the official language adversely affects the psychology of people who speak other languages. As the consequence of such a defective language policy in the constitution, the non-Hindi-speaking people face unequal competition at the national level and they are forced to use a language, either Hindi or English, which is not their natural language. Hence they are relegated to “B class” citizens. No regional languages should be selected as an official language in a multi-national, multi-lingual and multi-cultural country like India. Such a selection would affect the minds of other non-Hindi-speaking people. Hindi is just a regional language like Tamil, Telegu and Tulu. It is a good language but it should not be forcibly imposed on others.

India is a secular country but Pakistan is a Muslim state and Nepal is a Hindu state. They may or may not impose a language on their people, but in India this imposition should not take place. The spirit of secularism provides equal scope and equal avenues for all for the maximum psycho-social-economical development of every individual.

When the Indian parliament debated the issue of official languages, the constituent assembly was equally divided into two. The then chairman of the Constituent Assembly at that controversial stage cast his all-important vote in favour of Hindi. Thus Hindi becomes the official language of India by a single vote.

Saḿskrta may be the national language of India. It is the grandmother of almost all the modern languages of India and has a great influence on the languages of India. It may take five, ten, fifty or hundred years to spread this language to all people. Roman script should be used since Saḿskrta has no script of its own. All groups of people including linguists of India should join together and decide this controversial matter.

The second psychological loophole is that there are several disparities in the law. The constitution of India proclaims that all are equal in the eye of the law. But in practice, this principle is not followed, and as a result disparity is growing in the arena of law and justice. Such disparity is adversely affecting the different groups of people in the country. For example, there are disparities between the Hindu Code and the Muslim Code. Hindu women and Muslim women, although they are all Indian citizens, do not get equal advantages of law. For instance, according to Hindu law, a man cannot have more than one wife, but a Muslim man is entitle to have more than one wife. A Hindu husband or a Hindu wife is required to approach the court to secure a divorce, while a Muslim man is entitled to divorce his wife without the permission or approval of the court. Moreover, a Muslim husband can divorce his wife but a Muslim wife cannot divorce her husband. Besides, a Muslim husband is not required to show [[any reason for the divorce]].

Disparity in the eye of the law is creating all these problems. The root of all these evils lies in the psychological loopholes of the Indian constitution. Why is the constitution allowing the Hindu Code and Muslim Code to stand side by side? Let there be only one code – the Indian Code. This Indian Code should be based on cardinal human values, with a universal approach and Neo-Humanistic spirit. Then only equality before the law can be established in practice, and equal protection of the law for all can be guaranteed. So the constitution should remove the psychological loopholes by eradicating existing disparities in the eye of the law.

The third psychological loophole is that there is no law against the indiscriminate destruction of flora and fauna due to the absence of Neo-Humanistic sentiment. In the Cosmic Family of the Parama Puruśa, humans, animals, plants, and inanimate objects exist together and maintain a harmonious balance. However, human beings, because of their superior intellect, are indiscriminately destroying plants and animals for their own narrow, selfish ends. In the constitution, there is no provision for the safeguard of the plants and animals. In a constitution, there should be safeguards for the lives of plants and animals. The absence of such provisions in the constitution creates psychological loopholes which should be corrected without delay.

Fourthly, the relation between the centre and the states in a confederation should be clearly defined in the constitution. Otherwise, there will be centre-state conflict and the whole country will be psychologically affected. Among all other aspects of this relation two important aspects should be clearly defined; the right of self-determination, and the right of secession of a particular component of the confederation. In the constitution of India these are not clearly stated. As a result, the relation between the centre and the states is always strained and pressured.

Fifthly, in the constitution of India, no clear definitions of scheduled tribes and scheduled castes are given. Rather, these lists have been wrongly prepared on the basis of racial considerations. Instead of this unscientific approach, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste lists should be based on economic backwardness and educational backwardness.

Constitutional Reforms

To overcome these fiscal and psychological loopholes, all constitutions in the world today need to be reformed. The following reforms should be implemented.

(1) Dissolution of the ministry or parliament. The president may discharge the ministry or dissolve the parliament under certain circumstances: in case of inimical action within the country; in case of disorder or the breakdown of law and order; in case of external inimical activity; and when a democratic ministry is rendered a minority in the parliament. When a democratic ministry is discharged because it is a minority in the house, the president has to explain the reasons for his or her actions before the parliament within one month from the day of taking such action against the ministry. If the parliament is already dissolved then the president will have to arrange a general election within six months and explain the position before the newly elected parliament within one month of the election.

(2) Period of emergency. The president may continue the period of emergency with the approval of parliament for a period of six months, and with such a parliament the president may continue a period of emergency for not more that two years.

(3) Advice of a lame duck ministry. The president may or may not act on the advice of a lame duck ministry. If the advice of a lame duck ministry is not honoured by the president then the parliament will be dissolved. A new parliament will have to be formed through a general election, and the president will have to explain his or her position before the new parliament within one month of its formation.

(4) The moral standard and character of the president and prime minister. The president or prime minister must be of high moral character. The president or prime minister must not divorce his or her spouse, marry a divorcee or have more than one spouse.

(5) The power of the president to issue any statement. The president must not issue any statement under normal conditions without consulting the parliament or the prime minister. In normal conditions when there is a ministry, the president will have to act according to the advice of the ministry. In case the ministry is dissolved the president will have to act according to the advice of parliament.

(6) Parliament in the role of constituent assembly. The parliament will play the role of constituent assembly only with a majority of 7/8 of the members, because changing the constitution at regular intervals reduces the status of the constitution.

(7) Language. All living languages of a country must have equal status before the state or the government.

(8) Equal rights. All citizens must have equal rights before the law. Physical requirements are to be equally considered for all citizens so that all citizens will have equilibrium and equipoise in collective life.

(9) Review board. To review economic progress and development of different parts of the country, a high-level review board should be constituted by the president. If there is any difference between the ministry and the board, the president must act according to the advice of parliament. And if there is any difference between the parliament and the board, the president should seek advice from the supreme court of the country and act according to their official advice, according to the provisions of the constitution.

(10) A case against the prime minister or president. A case may be filed in the supreme court against any person in the country including the prime minister and president, because every citizen in the country is equal before the constitution.

(11) The right of self-determination and plebiscite. The right of self-determination for a part of the country may be recognized only on the basis of a plebiscite held in that area with the permission of the parliament functioning as a constituent assembly. If the plebiscite is to be held, it should be held under the strict control and supervision of the central government by the chief election commissioner of the country.

(12) Education. Primary education for all must be guaranteed and education should be free from all political interference.

(13) The law and the constitution should be the same. The law and the constitution should be the same for the entire country, as each and every individual is equal before the law and before the constitution. According to th constitution, each and every part of the country will enjoy the same power. For example, special rights or facilities for Kashmir should not be allowed. Today a Kashmiri can go to Bengal and purchase land, a house, etc. but a Bengali in Kashmir cannot enjoy that facility. This kind of discrimination must end.

Charter of Rights

The formation of a World Government will require a world constitution. A charter of principles or bill of rights should be included in such a constitution and encompass at least the following four areas. First, complete security should be guaranteed to all the plants and animals on the planet. Secondly, each country must guarantee purchasing power to all its citizens. Thirdly, the constitution should guarantee four fundamental rights – spiritual practice or Dharma; cultural legacy; education; and indigenous linguistic expression. Fourthly, if the practice of any of these rights conflicts with cardinal human values then that practice should be immediately curtailed. That is, cardinal human values must take precedence over all other rights. All the constitutions of the world suffer from numerous defects. The above points may be adopted by the framers of different constitutions to overcome these defects.

Shrii P R Sarkar

A Few Problems Solved Part 8

22 September 1986, Calcutta

The Present Age and Human Values by Shrii P R Sarkar- A Few Problems Solved Part 2

The Present Age and Human Values by Shrii P R Sarkar- A Few Problems Solved Part 2

March 1970

The Present Age and Human Values

At present life is valued on the basis of money.

Yasyástivittam sah sarah kuliinah sah panditah

Sah shutaban gunagnah sa eva vaktása ca darshaniiyah

Sarve gunah kancanámá trayanti.

That is, these days, a person who possesses wealth is respected and revered whereas a person without money is a person honoured by none. The poor, whoever they may be, have to woo the rich just for the sake of earning their livelihood. Human values have become meaningless, for human beings have become the means for the rich to earn money. The rich, having purchased the human mind with their money, are busy playing a game of chess with the other members of society. Bereft of everything, people toil round the clock to earn a mere pittance. Today the motto of people is, “I have to send some food particles into the apathetic stomach after somehow taking a dip in the muddy water amidst hyacinths.”

Those who are at the helm of society, constantly suspicious of others, forever count their losses and profits. They have no desire to think about the plight of humanity. Rather, to gratify themselves they are ready to chew the human bone, and suck human blood. For the self-centred there is no place for feelings of mercy, sympathy or camaraderie. The railway stations and market places are full of half-clad beggars and lepers desperately stretching out their begging bowls, earning their livelihood in the only way they know. They are fortunate if anyone contemptuously flings them a copper coin. The old blind beggars sitting all day long on the steps of a bridge automatically lift their bowls whenever anyone walks past. But their hungry pleas fall on deaf ears. On the other side of the social coin, sumptuous dishes are being prepared to entertain the rich dignitaries. These contrasts ridicule the present human society.

Today, those who occupy high posts are also respected. Dignity is attached to post or rank. A station master will take great pains to prepare the railway minister’s visit, but will never trouble himself with the inconveniences faced by the ordinary passengers. Luxurious houses are built for high-ranking officers while the poor live in shanty towns, barely protected from the elements. I don’t say that large houses should never be built, but that everyone should be provided the minimum requirements. “I admit that both rice and tasty dishes are necessary for people, but I shall not demand a sumptuous dish from the goddess of food until I see that India has been overflooded with an abundance of rice.”

These days educated people are so proud of their erudition that they detest illiterate people and avoid the company of commoners. Thus they shun village life and live in towns. When the question of returning to the village crops up, they say, “What on earth would we do in a village? There’s not a single person to talk to. Only idiots live there.” This explains why almost all attention is focused on the urban areas to the detriment of the villages. While soliciting votes, political leaders pay a short visit to the villages with a mouthful of attractive promises. They promptly inform the ignorant populace about their great achievements in constructing huge dams; though perhaps village cultivation is becoming impossible due to want of irrigation. They give detailed descriptions about their plans to build bridges and bungalows and install television sets, though perhaps in that village people die for want of medicine, or beg for food in poverty-stricken desperation. And yet the common villagers constitute the backbone of society. Even in the towns not everyone gets equal opportunities. The pavements have become the home for so many people. Rabindranath says, “ There are always a number of uncelebrated people in the human civilization. They are the majority, and they are the medium, but they have no time to become human beings. They are raised on the leftovers of the national wealth. They are poorly dressed and receive little education, yet they serve the rest of society. They give maximum labour but are rewarded with ignominy – they die of starvation or are tortured to death by those they serve. They are deprived of all life’s amenities. They are the candlestick of civilization: they stand erect with the candle resting on their head. Everyone gets light from it, while they suffer the discomfort of the wax trickling down their sides. In this way, the dishonest of humanity or the neglect of human values has become a social malady.”

Another glaring example of the neglect of human values is the present judicial system. When arrested, people have to stand in the dock for the accused and face a trial based on evidence and the lawyer’s eloquence, no matter if they are guilty or not. A criminal who can afford to hire a reputable lawyer may emerge from the legal processes unscathed, whereas an innocent person of meagre financial means who is unable to appoint a good counsel, may end up in prison. If a thief is set free it is a crime, no doubt; but if an innocent person is punished it is a severe dishonour to humanity.

One of the primary causes of crime today is the lack of virtuous people. Those who are honest try to follow moral principles in their private lives, but at times have to abandon moralism under the pressure of poverty. Eventually they may find themselves in the dock of the accused, charged with committing theft. The law is not concerned with the poverty which forced them to steal, nor, indeed, does the law make provisions for the maintenance of their families if they are given a prison sentence. As a consequence, their children will have to become pick-pockets and petty thieves and their unfortunate wives have to embrace an ignoble and sinful life in the underworld, for survive they must. On being released from jail, the men will meet social discrimination and alienation and, with little other choice, will be forced to select crime as their profession. In this way hundreds of families are being ruined each day. Nobody feels their agony or offers them sympathy; for today the common people are not anybody’s concern.

The black marketeers who escape punishment by virtue of money are now occupying the commanding positions in society – the more one is devious and hypocritical, the more powerful one becomes.

To sadvipras [spiritual revolutionaries] the value of human life surpasses all other values. So states and scriptures, societies and religions, acquire significance only insofar as they develop humanity to the maximum through learning, culture, physical health and economic plenty. It is for the sake of developing humanity that civilization has so many institutions of different kinds, that states take their various forms, that theories proliferate, and that the scriptures abound in ordinances and regulations. What in the world does the state stand for, what is the use of all these regulations, and what are the marvels of civilization for, if people are prevented from manifesting themselves, if they do not get the opportunity to build good physiques, to invigorate their intelligence with knowledge, or to broaden their hearts with love and compassion? If, instead of tending to lead human beings to the goal of life, the state stands in the way, it cannot command loyalty, because humanity is superior to the state. According to Rabindranath Tagore, “Justice and law at the cost of humanity is like a stone instead of bread. Maybe that stone is rare and valuable, but it cannot remove hunger.”

It is customary to give preference to social value over human value. Sadvipras want to strike at the root of this custom. For them, human value takes precedence over social value. Human beings form the society, and hence human value must lay the foundation for the social value. In other words, those who show respect to human value will be entitled to social value. It was mentioned earlier that human value means nothing but to treat the joys and sorrows, hopes and aspirations of human beings sympathetically, and see them merged in Cosmic Consciousness and established in divine majesty. And if one is to elevate oneself to that sublime height, he or she will have to be supplied with an environment suitable to his or her physical, mental and spiritual existence. It is the birthright of everyone to make headway in their trifarious existence. It is the duty of society to accord recognition to this human right. Society has failed to do its duty, and that is why life is full of sorrow and suffering.

No one can say for certain that no great person might have emerged from among those wayward urchins whom we are wont to slight and hate. Women who have turned to prostitution for the sake of their physical existence might have grown into noble personalities if their agony had been appreciated sympathetically, and if they had been rehabilitated by society. But since society has nothing to do with human value, a good number of great personalities are withering away in their embryonic stage. The sadvipras will undertake to revive this neglected section of humanity. To them no sinner is contemptible, no one is a rogue. People turn into satans or sinners when, for want of proper guidance, they are goaded by depraving propensities. The human mind goaded by depraving propensities is satan. If their propensities are sublimated, they will no longer be satans; they will be transformed into gods. Every course of action of society ought to be judged with an eye to the dictum “Human beings are divine children.”

Thus the purpose of the penal code which will be framed by the sadvipras will be to rectify, and not to punish, a person. They will knock down the prisons and build reform schools, rectification camps. Those who [are] inborn criminals, in other words, those who perpetrate crimes because of some organic defects, ought to be offered treatment so that they may humanize themselves. And regarding those who commit crimes out of poverty, their poverty must be removed.

The significance of society lies in moving together. If in the course of the journey anybody lags behind, if in the darkness of night a gust of wind blows out anyone’s lamp, we should not just go ahead and leave them in the lurch. We should extend a hand to help them up, and rekindle their lamps with the flames of our lamps.

Vartiká laiyá háte calechila ek sáthe

Pathe nibe geche álo pare áche tái

Tomrá ki dayá kare tulibená háth dhare

Ardhadańd́a tár tare thámibená bhái.

[While marching together with lamps in our hands, someone’s lamp has gone out, and he is lying beside the road. Brothers and sisters, will you not stop for a moment to lift him up?]

Stop we must, otherwise the spirit of society is in jeopardy.

A rśi [sage] has said: Samamantreńa jáyate iti samájah [“Society is the collective movement of a group of individuals who have decided to move together towards a common goal”]. That is, whether people are pápii or tápii [sinners or victims], thieves, criminals, or characterless individuals, they are so only superficially; internally they are filled with the potential for purity. The principal object of the sadvipras is to explore and bring this potentiality into play. They will accord human value to everyone without exception. Those who have done hateful crimes must be punished, but sadvipras will never hate them, or put an end to them by depriving them of food, because sadvipras are humanists. The pandits puffed up with vainglory could turn their attention to their books instead of attending on the ailing non-Hindu Haridas, but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu found it impossible to remain indifferent to him. He took Haridas in his arms and nursed him carefully, and thus showed respect to human value.

However, when the question of social responsibility arises, it must be considered with great care. Irresponsible people cannot be entrusted with social responsibility, because those who shoulder social responsibility will have to lead humanity on the path of development, and correct the ways of sinners. If they themselves are of evil mentality, it will not be possible for them to discharge their social responsibility. It has been said: “The collective body of those who are engaged in the concerted effort to bridge the gap between the first expression of morality and establishment in universal humanism is called society.”(1) So social responsibility should be entrusted to those who are capable of discharging it creditably. If moralism is the starting-point of the journey of society, then those who are at its helm must be moralists. And since society aims to establish universalism, those people must be universalists. And if the gap between moralism and universal humanism is to be bridged, spiritual sádhaná is a must, so those people must practise rigorous sádhaná. Their philosophy of life must be, “Morality is the base, sádhaná is the means, and life divine is the goal.”

This great responsibility must never be entrusted to those who are themselves criminals. Unless and until such people correct themselves, they will not be given any social value, though in no way will they be denied human value. At present social value is given importance, but those who are selected to discharge social responsibility do not possess the aforesaid qualities. They have occupied their posts on the strength of their money or on the basis of patronage, but this has not resulted in any collective welfare. That is why there is an instruction in our social scripture:

Do not be misled by anyone’s tall talk. Judge merit by seeing the performance. Remember, whatever position one is in offers sufficient opportunity to work. One whose character is not in accordance with Yama-Niyama should not get opportunity [[to become]] a representative.… to [[vest]] an incompetent person with power means to push society towards destruction knowingly and deliberately. (“Society” in Caryacarya Part 2, 1999)

The sadvipras will install qualified persons in power, and the social order which will be evolved by virtue of their leadership will give due importance to one and all. In this new society based on Neohumanism, everyone will find their life worth living. All will regain their lost positions of honour.

Shrii P R Sarkar

A Few Problems Solved Part 2

March 1970

Cosmic Brother/Sisterhood by Shrii P R Sarkar- Excerpted:The Great Universe: Discourses on Society

Cosmic Brother/Sisterhood by Shrii P R Sarkar- Excerpted:The Great Universe: Discourses on Society

5th June 1959, Jamalpur

Cosmic Brother/Sisterhood

All the sentiment-provoking ideas should be firmly opposed. This does not mean an attack on those sentiments, traditions and habits which are innate in human beings and which do not hamper their Cosmic development. For example, the movement for uniformity in dress for all people will be but a ridiculous and irrational approach. Different selections of dress are the result of climatic factors and corporal necessities. Moreover, dissimilarity in dress is not detrimental to world fraternity.

There will also be many zonal or regional differences as regards other traditions and customs. These should be appreciated and encouraged for the indigenous development of society. But under no circumstances should there be a compromise in principle or yielding to tendencies detrimental to the inculcation of Cosmic sentiment.

The inspiration of Cosmic sentiment will depend upon certain objective physical problems which must be solved on a collective humanitarian basis. In the relative objective sphere the following few fundamental problems must be attempted at [tackled] and solved. These are:

Common philosophy of life

Same constitutional structure

Common penal code

Availability (production, supply, purchasing capacity) of the minimum essentialities of life

Common Philosophy of Life

A common philosophy of life demands a clear conception in the human mind that the development of the human personality means an evolution in all the three spheres – physical, metaphysical or mental, and spiritual. Some objective materialist thinkers have held the opinion that spirituality is a utopian philosophy, bereft of practicalities pertaining to actual problems of life. Other thinkers conceived it as a wise and intelligent device to befool the toiling mass. But the logical analysis given above must have clarified to thoughtful readers that spirituality is the summum bonum of life in all its aspects.

Those who think dharma to be an individual’s concern conceive it in a very narrow sense. Dharma leads to Cosmic unity, inculcating in the individual mind Cosmic idealism. Religion, in the sense of dharma, is the unifying force in humanity. Moreover, spirituality provides a human being and humanity at large with that subtle and tremendous power with which no other power can be compared. Therefore, with spirituality as the base, a rational philosophy should be evolved to deal with the physical, psychological and socio-philosophical problems of the day. The complete rational theory dealing with all three phases – spiritual, mental and physical – of human development shall be a philosophy common to humanity in general. This will be evolutionary and ever-progressing. Of course, small details may vary according to the relative environment of the age.

Nationalism is fast getting out of date. Not only has national sentiment given humanity rude shocks in the world wars of the present century, but the social and cultural blending of the present age also shows the domination of cosmopolitanism in world affairs. Vested interests, however, continue to cause certain fissiparous tendencies. There are some who fear loss of their economic or political domination and are directly responsible for these detrimental or retrograde reactions.

Same Constitutional Structure

Despite these obstacles, a social blending of humanity is in progress and needs a common constitutional structure to be evolved to cement the solidarity of the world. A world government is also very essential for exercising full control in certain spheres; for example, there should be only one world militia.

The world government should form certain autonomous units, not necessarily national (based on problems of education, food supply, flood control, public sentiment), which should look after mundane and supramundane problems. The boundaries of these units may be readjusted to suit any change in the environment – for instance, development in the techniques of communication. Development in the means of communication brings the different remote parts of the world nearer, and the world, therefore, grows smaller. With this well-developed swifter means of communication, units with bigger areas can work smoothly and efficiently.

A language must also be evolved as the lingua franca of the world. (At present English is most suitable for the purpose and no national sentiment should be encouraged to go against it.) But the local languages must be encouraged to help the indigenous literatures develop and contribute towards world progress, and thereby contribute to the common brotherhood of humanity.

Common Penal Code

A common penal code must be evolved. Legislation must be progressive and capable of gradual adjustment with the prevalent conditions. Any theory which does not hold a parallelism with the ever-changing conditions of time, place and person, is sure to decay and be lost in oblivion. Hence, there must be a never-ending effort for amendment with a view to rectification.

Crimes are acts forbidden by the law of the government concerned, and virtue and vice (puńya and pápa) are the outcome of traditional customs. The sentiments of the lawmakers are very much influenced by the prevalent traditions and customs regarding the concept of virtue and vice of the locality or of the people concerned. The sense of crime, therefore, has a parallelism with the concept of virtue and vice. The idea of virtue and vice is different in different countries. The aspirants of world fraternity should try to lessen the difference and reduce the gap amongst cardinal, moral and human laws. All those actions which help in the growth of the spiritual, mental and physical aspects of human beings in general should come under the category of virtuous deeds, and those actions which go against humanity in its spiritual, mental and physical development must come under “vice”. This conception of virtue and vice applies commonly to humanity in general.

Minimum Essentialities of Life

The availability of the minimum essentialities of life plays a vital part not only in achieving world brotherhood, but also in the development of human personality. This should be tackled on a world footing, and should be based on certain fundamental presumptions. Every human being has certain minimum requirements which he or she must be guaranteed. Guaranteed availability of foodstuff, clothing, medical assistance and housing accommodation should be arranged so that human beings may be able to utilize their surplus energy (energy up till now engaged in procuring the essentialities of life) in subtler pursuits. Side by side, there should be sufficient scope for providing other amenities of the progressive age. To fulfil the above responsibilities, enough purchasing capacity should be created.

If the supply of requirements be guaranteed without any conditions of personal skill and labour, the individual may develop the psychology of idleness. The minimum requirements of every person are the same, but diversity is also the nature of creation. Special amenities should, therefore, be provided so that the diversity in skill and intelligence is fully utilized, and talent is encouraged to contribute its best towards human development. It will, therefore, be necessary to make provision for special emoluments which can cater for special amenities of life according to the age and time. But at the same time, there should be a constant effort to reduce the gap between the amount of special emoluments and the bare minimum requirements of the average individual. The guaranteed supply of minimum requirements must be liberalized by increasing the provision of special amenities pertaining to the age and also, simultaneously, by bringing about a decrease in the provision of special emoluments given to the few. This never-ending effort of proper economic adjustment must ceaselessly continue at all times with a view to assisting the spiritual, mental and physical evolution of human beings, and to let humanity develop a Cosmic sentiment for a Cosmic ideal and world fraternity.

In this socio-economic set-up people are at full liberty in the spiritual and mental spheres. This is possible because the spiritual and psychic entities for which people can aspire are themselves unlimited, and the extent of possession in this sphere does not hamper the progress of others in their quests. But the supply in the physical sphere is limited, and hence any effort for disproportionate or unrestricted acquisition of physical objects has every possibility of creating a vast majority of have-not’s, and thus hampering the spiritual, mental and physical growth of the larger majority. So, while dealing with the problem of individual liberty, it must be kept in view that individual liberty in the physical sphere must not be allowed to cross a limit whereat it is instrumental in hampering the development of the complete personality of human beings; and, at the same time, must not be so drastically curtailed that the spiritual, mental and physical growths of human beings are hampered.

Thus, the social philosophy of Ananda Marga advocates the development of the integrated personality of the individual, and also the establishment of world fraternity, inculcating in human psychology a Cosmic sentiment. The Marga advocates progressive utilization of mundane and supramundane factors of the Cosmos. The society needs a stir for life, vigour and progress, and for this Ananda Marga advocates the Progressive Utilization Theory (Prout), meaning thereby progressive utilization of all factors. Those who support this principle may be termed “Proutists”.

The principles of Prout depend upon the following fundamental factors:

1)No individual should be allowed to accumulate any physical wealth without the clear permission or approval of the collective body.

2)There should be maximum utilization and rational distribution of all mundane, supramundane and spiritual potentialities of the universe.

3)There should be maximum utilization of physical, metaphysical and spiritual potentialities of unit and collective bodies of human society.

4)There should be a proper adjustment amongst these physical, metaphysical, mundane, supramundane and spiritual utilizations.

5)The method of utilization should vary in accordance with changes in time, space and person, and the utilization should be of progressive nature.

Hence, ours is a Progressive Utilization Theory (Prout).

Footnotes

(1) Unit selves, or jiivátmans, are derived from the Cosmic Self. See “Pratisaiṋcara and Manah” for a discussion of the reunion of the two. –Eds.

Shrii P R Sarkar

Excerpted:The Great Universe: Discourses on Society

5th June 1959, Jamalpur

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