68.A reassuring affirmation

 In the mid 1980’s while pursuing  my  BA Degree in English Language and Literature,   at the Maharajah’s University College, Thiruvananthapuram,  a  close chum of mine,  Dr. Santhosh  (now  well known in the  Malayalam film world as  the Babusenan Brothers) introduced me to  a  book shelf in the  Kerala University Library  entitled  ‘Mysticism’… And in the years  to follow,   I  poured over   several books  including  one  which   recently   a  senior  professor   whom I see as a mentor,  Prof.Sreedharan,    of   NIT, Calicut  referred to in  a  casual conversation.  The professor  told me that  a  rare  manuscript of  Varahamihira’s   Bhirat Samhita is available  in  manuscript form  in   archives…and I  surprised him by saying  that it is available in  the Kerala University Library in print form!

My tryst  with  books on Mysticism   indirectly  prepared  me  to  teach  Indian Philosophy  to the students of the  Integrated  Teacher Education  Programme  this year…The  schools of philosophy  included  everything from  Vaisheshika, Samkhya, and Vedanta  to  Buddhism, Jainism and Charavaka….  A close  study  of  the  different schools  led me to  an affirmation of  the  richness of  Indian spirituality.

A few years  ago,   I  had purchased  half a dozen books published by OSHO  Media International at  a  throwaway price  from an  antique book seller.  Recently,  I  read the first in the collection on   Zen Buddhism based on  informal talks  delivered by  Osho (Sri Rajaneesh). It   was  quite a revelation...In  the  second book  I am reading now,   on talks  related to  Kabir,  I came across the following  quote:

“All the beautiful  has come out of the religious people, the theistic  people…

There are three hundred  religions in the world-so much variety so many possibilities…

In religion there is tremendous variety. Mahavira says something, Buddha says something else, Jesus still something else, Mohammed brings another dimension, Moses opens  another door, and Zarathustra is calling you to see from his eyes. The tremendous  variety,  so may dimension so many possibilities challenge humanity and bring out the best in  you…”p254

This is to me a  reassuring affirmation   of something I was  ruminating on… all these years…and I  thought  I should share it  in my Blog.

67. A transformative experience

 

Yesterday, April 23, 2024  will ever remain a memorable day…Why?...As a participant of a  workshop on Indian Knowledge Systems,  I had the good fortune to attend   two sessions  of   the workshop on Indian Knowledge Systems   by   Prof. E.V.Rajan,  a  distinguished Scientist and  winner of the Man of the Millennium Award, Who is Who Bibliographical Records, Cambridge, 2000  and one who has received  numerous accolades.

A few months prior  to the  onslaught of Covid19,   I   had  pursued an Online  course  on Udemy  entitled:  An Introduction to the Akashic Records-Your Soul’s Journey.  The  course instructor   appeared to draw heavily on   the book by   the Systems  Theorist  Ervin  Laszlo’s Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything. (The book  is an attempt to present  the  unifying world-concept long sought by scientists, mystics, and sages: an Integral Theory of Everything. It attempts to explain how modern science has rediscovered the Akashic Field of perennial philosophy).

Though I pursued the course,  I couldn’t  make much sense of  what  Akashic  Records  are  and I  naturally  lost all interest in it until I listened  yesterday to Prof. Rajan elaborate on his own deductive theory of  Space, Time and Consciousness  and  his  attempt at Vedic Coding of Knowledge.  The  talk, the   explanatory  PowerPoint slides  along with  anecdotes   related  to his exploratory research turned out to be a  real eye opener!

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In  my  notes book  of  the  Online course, I   had recorded   a  few observations  similar to the ones provided by Prof. Rajan.  A few include:

 * The records are a higher realm, a vibrational storage space…Connecting to your records brings you to a heightened state of vibration. When you are at the highest vibration you are feeling the universe. There is an increase in your energetic scale allowing you to receive not just words and information, but a higher plane of energy.

*Time is an illusion 

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The following  are  notes which I made   during  yesterday’s workshop and are indeed  food for thought.

*There is a difference between Brahmin and Brahmana.  Brahmana is one who through  study   and  performance of  his duties  raises to the level…just as there are elements  to satisfy certain properties. (Sankaracharya  adopting  a   washerman as  his disciple is an instance)

 *There  are three states  

*Jagarata state-Active consciousness   which is a blend of kinetic energy and information.

*Swapna state

*Shupti(deep sleep)- Static consciousness   which is a blend of potential energy and information. 

*Taithireeya Upanishad says : “space is the body of Brahman.” 

*Vedas are  encrypted scientific knowledge. 

*Vishnu’s ananthashayana posture, the lotus from navel are all  symbolically  explaining the  encrypted knowledge of the Vedas. 

*Brain has neurons…No information  is stored in the brain. Information is nothing but network. Information  is stored as patterns.  Every  event is an algorithm. 

*The  neurons are independent processors,   a network that connects. It is the mind that organizes the neurons. 

* Knowledge is  a pattern in the form of a network. Knowledge is embedded in your body. 

* The Universal mind organizes the universal network. The entire mind is controlled by the atma…Network  remains…but neurons keep changing. 

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*Vedas constitute  universal knowledge. 

*Every vedic chant has a coding behind it. 

*Our ancient rishis  have been able to gain knowledge through cosmic radiation  patterns …grant-in-aid  from Brahman..  and were able to hear the divine sounds of  the Universe. 

*By chanting  mantras  it is possible to resonate with the universal consciousness. 

* Through  electronic  frequency generation  of  specifically written mantras  it is  possible to  kill viruses. 

 

 

66.Swami Vivekananda’s Vision

 

The Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CIKS), NIT Calicut   organized    a programme on  National Youth Day (January 12,2024).   Two invited  speakers  delivered  lectures.

Dr. M. V. Natesan, Prof. (Retd.), Department of Vyakarana and Head   of the Department of Education, Sree Sankaracharya University of  Sanskrit, Kalady   delivered a lecture on the  topic ‘Revalued and Restated Philosophy of   Swami Vivekananda’.

 This was followed by a  lecture  on  ‘Swami Vivekananda’s  Contributions for the Development of Science in India’  by Dr. K. Muralidharan, Principal Scientist, Central Plantation Crops   Research Institute, Kasaragod and President, Swadeshi Science  Movement Kerala on the topic,

 Excerpts  from the lecture:

 Dr.Natesan:

To Swami Vivekananda,  Education should be man-making, life-giving, and character-building  leading to nation building. For this he wanted  Darsana  to be the  foundation of education in India.

*Swami Vivekananda  advocated Karma  Yoga, Bhakti  Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga

     * One should control the mind  by avoiding  externals (Yama)  and  preventing the mind from wandering in any direction (Niyama)

*Each soul is potentially divine and the goal should be to  manifest this Divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal.

*Understanding  Bharat   knowledge system is  essential.  The various branches include  Science, Darsana, Samskara and  Art. The end of art and science is self awareness.

*If  we  wish to  improve the  quality of  the   youth of today  then we have to ensure that they preserve  purity of character and  should not be addicted to a material way of  life.

Excerpts from the lecture

Dr.Muralidharan

*Swami Vivekananda was a great scientific visionary : “Do not believe a  thing because you read it in a book…Do not believe a thing because another has said  it so…Find out the truth for yourself!...That is realization…”

*Awakening from a trance that followed his deep meditation below an old peppul tree, beside a stream near Almorah (India), he jotted down his vision in a note book: “the scheme of the universe of both micro-world and macro-world are built on the same plan…the whole universe exists in the atom…”

In 1913, a student of Rutherford, Neils Bohr developed a model of atomic structure which was patterned on the solar system, and his model is termed  planetary model of atomic structure. In this model, electrons are orbiting  around a positively charged central nucleus like the planets orbiting around the sun.

*Swamiji  used the language  of science to explain Vedanta:

“…soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere  but the centre is  the same body…God is a circle whose  circumference is nowhere, and whose centre is everywhere, and when we get out of the narrow centre of the body we shall realize God-our true self.”

The  programme  concluded  with  Prof. Sridharan, Chairperson CIKS  offering the vote of thanks. The invited  speakers were also presented with mementoes.  

All participants of the programmes  were  gifted  books  on  Swami Vivekananda.

 The  Chairperson, Prof.Sridharan also announced the formation of   Vivekananda Study Circle, a  forum  with the “objective of providing an opportunity and guidance to the interested persons who seek to acquire a clear understanding of life, values and culture, in the light of the life and the teachings of SwamiVivekananda”.

 

65.Life Skills Conference- 2024

 

The international conference  on ‘Global Synergy for Sustainable Development: Integrating Life Skills  for Systemic Change’  was  organized at Mar Theophilus Training College, Nalanchira, Thiruvananthapuram, India from Jan 4 to 06,2024.  It was attended by delegates  from several  parts of India and abroad. The rationale behind convening  the  conference is that many are now beginning to feel  the pressing need for  a  concerted  evidence-based, and innovative effort to address the complex and  interrelated challenges confronting our world.  In the invited  talks  and  deliberations  several  ideas emerged:

 

Here are a  couple of extracts from  select speeches:

His Eminent Beatitude Cardidnal Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis

quoted  Sree Narayana Guru:

“Act that one performs for own sake

should also aim for the well being of others”

  “Privilege is invisible to those who have it.” Prof Shekhar P. Seshadri

“We all  want to develop  our competencies…we would  like to refine/develop  our interpersonal skills…We want to be able to make informed judgments  and decisions where we encounter problems…we would like to build relationships…think  positively, … think creatively….” -Dr. S. Jaishankar  (Hon. Minister for External Affairs)

You can view the  deliberations  streamed  live, which  is  now available on YouTube.

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Day One: 04/01/2024

Inaugural session,  Symposium I: The Prospect and Retrospect of Life Skills Education in SAARC School Systems, Teen Talk: Life Skills for Personal and Academic Excellence, Nilavilakku (Cultural Programme)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV59iwVBADg

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Day Two: 05/01/2024

Panel Discussion III: Fostering Self-Reliance and Employability Through Life Skills

                             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq1T-Obbf3A

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Day Two: 05/01/2024

NGO Conclave: Life Skills Education for Social Empowerment and Inclusion

                                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IdFDyWciwY

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Day Three: 06/01/2024

Symposium III: Integrating and Mapping Life Skills in School & Higher Education Curriculum,

Focus Group Discussion: Life Skills in Teacher Education System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEyLUHeL2mg&t=10793s

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Day Three: 06/01/2024

Valedictory function

                                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq7x-6PpC88

 

 

64.Release of ‘The Journal of Social Empowerment’

 

To honour  and disseminate  the writings of the  Hindu sage and social reformer,  Chattambi Swamikal (1853-1924),  recently the   Shri Vidyadhiraja  International Study and Research Centre   was set up   in his birth place, Kannamoola, Thiruvananthapuram.  Yesterday, Sep 05,2023,  four books and two journals  were  released at a function held in the centre.

 As  Associate  Editor, of the Journal of Social Empowerment,   I had  penned an article entitled ‘Empowerment initiatives for the public :  Critical review of  100 years  old official documents of the state of Travancore’.

 

Abstract

European   and Indian historians   who studied the lives of the people of  Kerala have  documented the  plight of the backward communities particularly  of the  nineteenth  and the early twentieth  century.  Thanks  to social reformers like  Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamy and  Sri Ayankali,  a slow  transformation happened in the lives of  members of the backward   communities. One significant contribution of these leaders was the attempt at sensitizing  their  communities to the need for education for empowerment.

There  are  several  definitions of  empowerment and  writers  like Adams  have  pointed out  the perils of focusing on just one  definition. A minimal definition of empowerment  which   one  may adopt  could be one which implies the capacity of individuals, groups and/or communities to take control of their circumstances, exercise power and achieve their own goals. (Wikipedia)

The  investigator   while  attempting  a  review of  narratives  of empowerment in Kerala, noted the emergence of a pattern.  Most such narratives  seldom  presented the empowerment process  as  the coming together  of  two parties- one desirous of  empowerment   and the external agency making the realization of  empowerment a smooth process. For instance, narratives of empowerment particularly by the newly  empowered   attributed their success  entirely  to  own  sacrifices  punctuated  by   struggle  and  oppression. Similarly there  are  narratives  that  project the view that it was solely  by conversion  to  Christianity that  certain depressed classes  became empowered. And in modern times we have  come across assertions that it was  open  resistance to the indignities  of inequalities  through grass root level political  struggles  that  empowerment happened in Kerala. A critical reading of such narratives gave the investigator the impression that  such narratives  are slightly biased,  or even lopsided.

But when the investigator  stumbled upon certain official documents,  published 100 years ago, in the  southern state of Travancore,  a  completely different picture began to emerge. The entries in the documents underscored the  enlightened vision of the  rulers  who assiduously attempted  empowerment of own subjects through policies and  legislations.  This prompted  the investigator  to  engage in a quest for historical truth.

This paper  attempts    a  review of  three significant official documents  published  one hundred years  ago. The review  besides providing  an insight into the socio-economic  conditions of the 19^th and early 20^th century,    reveals  how   the   vision,  the  passion and the  sense of  concern for  the well-being of own people displayed by the  rulers of the  state of  Travancore, opened up an avenue for empowerment. This   along with the  steps initiated  for   transforming  the  educational  scenario  led to  a  complete transformation  of the socio-economic well being of  the backward  communities in  Kerala. The  investigator  concludes  by attributing the  current status quo  and the  privileges  which the  once  termed  backward communities enjoy now, partly to  the vision,  initiatives  and support provided by the rulers of the state of  Travancore.  

Key  words:  Backward classes, Education,   Empowerment,  Travancore, Vision

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Cover  page of antique  books  which formed the primary source of the  study