बर्बर = barbara = barbarian, uncivilized

बर्बर = barbara = barbarian, uncivilized

A barbarian is a human who is perceived to be uncivilized or primitive.

It was used as early as Mahabharata, where Ghatotkacha's son was named barbarIka, having curly hair. He is worshiped as Khatushyamji today in Rajasthan.

Ghatotkacha was born with no hair on his head - ghaTa ut kacha - head without hair.

The Greeks used the word to mean non-greek. The Greeks and Romans used the term as they encountered scores of different foreign cultures, including the Egyptians, Persians, Medes, Celts, Germanic peoples, Phoenicians and Carthaginians. In fact, it became a common term to refer to all foreigners. However, in various occasions, the term was also used by Greeks, especially the Athenians, to deride other Greek tribes and states (such as Epirotes, Eleans, Macedonians and Aeolic-speakers) but also fellow Athenians, in a pejorative and politically motivated manner.

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क्षुरः - kShuraH - razor, knife

Remember those days when you (or your dad) would go to the barber shop and get a shave done with the 'ustaraa' (उस्तरा)? Some even thought of having one for home, to save on the constant expense on the flimsy blades that went blunt in 3 shaves.

The word for knife in common parlance is chhura (छुरा), or chhuri (छुरी).

The famous Zanjeer movie song that went -
chakku chhuriyaan ~~~~
tez karA lo
chakku ki aisee dhaar
ke chakku ban jaaye talwar
(चक्कू छुरियाँ ~~~~~
तेज़ करा लो
चक्कू की ऐसी धार
के चक्कू बन जाए तलवार)

THAT chhuri.

The word comes from Sanskrit word - kShuraH (क्षुरः) .

kShur = क्षुर् = to scratch, to cut
kShuraH = क्षुरः = razor
kShurikA = क्षुरिका = knife, dagger

And we know how 'kSha' gets modified into 'chha' or 'kha' or 'Sha' in languages derived from Sanskrit. That is normal linguistic simplification.
kShetra (क्षेत्र) becomes khet (खेत) (field)
kShetrapaala (क्षेत्रपाल) become khetarpaal (खेतरपाल) (surname)

Only real macho guys get a shave with a 'kShuraH' anymore.
All others are safe in the hands of Mach 5 Twin Blade Smooth Glide Razor Blades.
Sounds like some space mission! :)

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हरिद्रा - haridrA - turmeric

So, yesterday we saw why ginger is called 'adarak'. Ardra (आर्द्र) = moist, and we mentioned turmeric as well.

The color of turmeric powder is bright yellow. And it is a common material to give the yellow color of paintings and dyes. India has been famous for its vibrant colors from time immemorial. Just see any festival dresses, or see the desert designs of Rajasthan. Even before they were writing, they were coloring and making alloys. Remember steel and brass and bronze and the Ashoka pillar?

So, turmeric was used to dye cloths as well. And the color yellow is mentioned many times in names like 'peetambar/pitambar' in shlokas for Vishnu and his avatars.

The cloth on Lord Vishu's chest is of a characteristic yellow color. And Lord Vishnu is called pItAmbaraH (पीताम्बरः = One whose cloths are yellow) or pItAmbaradhArI (पीताम्बरधारी = one who wears yellow cloths). Yellow is also a primary color in the CMYK scheme.

"On the dark skinned (shyAma) Vishnu/Rama/Krishna the yellow cloth seems like the lightening in the dark rain-bearing (hence life giving) clouds" - thus go most of the descriptions of the three. (E.g in shrI rAmachandra kRipAlu bhajuman haraNa bhavabhaya dAruNam ...)

So, turmeric has got the color that is favorite of Hari, i.e. Lord Vishnu.

And hence it is called हरिद्रा (haridrA), - "the moist one with Hari's color."

Turmeric is very beneficial for bones and immunity development and is a natural antiseptic. It was applied on open wounds (after some preparation, not directly as powder) to prevent infection as well. Taking a pinch of it with warm milk daily is a great practice for healthy bones and great immunity and no extra cost.

It is also called haritA. The word 'haladee' is also used in later works of Sanskrit, and is the name in Hindi and many other languages.

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आर्द्रिका - ArdrikA - ginger

We all love a 'kadak adarak-wali chai' - strong ginger tea (with milk, black tea leaves and sugar - of course)

Wah Taj! 
Raindrops dancing on my balcony railing ...
... while I don't have to drive :)

and all that come rushing to the mind.

But what is up with the word 'adarak'? Where did that come from?

I always wondered these things way back in middle school - where do words come from? How did potato come to India? Where did ginger come from? Imported? Do we know if we had potato sabji 3000 years ago? Or ginger cold remedy back in 2000 BCE? And if not imported, what were they called earlier? And how did the new names come up?

Seems that ginger has been around for a while.
It was called aardrika/ArdrikA (आर्द्रिका).
Comes from the base word - aardra = आर्द्र = moist

Now, if you are an old timer, and have seen raw ginger or turmeric (or if you grab the fresh ginger at the vegetable vendor) , you will know that the ginger roots are moist when fresh. So, is turmeric. And then you dry them. Chop them in small pieces or grind them to powder, and use liberally to strengthen your immunity and bones.

So what is turmeric called?

adarak is also called - आर्द्रकम् (aardrakam)

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तत्त्वम् - tattvam - essence

We all know this word to mean essence of something. But the etymology is even more enlightening. 

tat = it, that
-tva = suffix to denote -ness

For example, 
apanatva = अपनत्व = feeling something, someone as one's own, say with a good friend
mahattvam = महत्त्वम् = greatness, importance
puMsatvam = पुंसत्वम् = manliness

So why does it-ness or that-ness mean essence? 
The Supreme Divine has no gender. It is referred as 'it' or 'that'. The word that itself comes from tat.

The essence of everything is That. It. 
What more indication of the depth of the language and its philosophy!

तत्त्वमसि = tat tvam asi = tattvamsi = That Thou Art!
 


(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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भूत - bhUta - beings or ghosts?

In many Indian languages, the word bhoot/bhoota (भूत) would inspire some flurry of electrical current up the spine. It means - ghost. There are movies with names like bhoota bangalaa (ghost bungalow) that were the pioneers of the horror genre in India. And then the Bib-B starrer recent flick called Bhootnath (protector/king of ghosts!)

And yet, Shiva (शिव) is also called bhUta-nAthaH (भूतनाथः). This of course gives fan to the fire that Shiva is the Lord of the ghosts, and wanders the cemetery, smears the ashes of the burning grounds. And trust me, all this has deep metaphorical meaning that will scare 'The Brief History of Time' out of you. More on this below.

The verb 'bhU/bhoo' (/भू) is a very basic verb. Out of the ten classes of verbs, one of them is called bhu-Adi-gaNa (भू-आदि-गण) or bhavAdigaNa (भवादिगण) i.e. "group of bhU and other verbs."

bhU means - to be.
bhava - you be.
bhavati = she/he/it becomes.

It is slightly different from 'is'. We say -
He became angry.
Water becomes ice.
etc.

It is a state change.

That which *has* become - bhUta.

Now, who has become (past tense) is relative as well.
All beings you see, were not beings earlier, in these bodies. They were souls. Before that part of the Supreme Soul. Before that unmanifest 'unperceivable' para-brahma.
Upon birth (or conception, if you are a nit-picker) , they *became*. Before that they were not.
They were, but not in a form that could have been perceived by us.

So, all beings are called 'bhUta'. All of life, not just you and me, the supreme creation, but even the lowly earthworm is a bhUta.

Now, when someone dies, from this life's point of view they 'were'. Had been. Had become, not now anymore. They are also called bhUta - one who *had* become (past perfect?).

And hence the word for one who had been is bhUta. And if that "had been" tries to become "is being" we really get our spines jolted and scream - ghost!!

So, why is Shiva called bhUtanAtha? Well, Shiva is the deity of transformation, of time. And from unmanifest to manifest, spirit to matter and to spirit again, are all transformations. And at the cemetery, you change from is to has been. And turn to ash. His smearing of ash on his body signifies that all came from Time and go back to Time. Only Time rejoices in Time. All else is illusion.

So, you must be thinking how I can say that bhUta = all beings.
Is it extrapolation?
Modern day stretchable interpretation?

Well, look no further. Remember this shloka in praise of the Mother Devi?

या देवि सर्व-भूतेषु, शक्ति-रूपेण संस्थिता ।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै, नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥   
yā dévi sarva-bhūtéṣhu, shakti-rūpéṇa saṃsthitā |
namas_tasyai namas_tasyai, namas_tasyai namo namaḥ||   

The Dévī who is well established among "all beings" in the form of Shakti (power, energy, ability), salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation,  salutation.


And why three times? Because 'Three is a charm'?

No silly, the three salutations are referring to the three forms of the Dévī – Sarasvatī, Lakṣhmī, Durgā. And why three Devi-s? Because three is a charm indeed! :)

Happy NNF.


The Nine-Night Festival!
May the Devi keep you safe, healthy and happy.



(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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सर्वार्थसाधिका - sarvArthasAdhikA - the realizer of all purposes

There are many names of the deities in Hinduism. They are all based on the characteristics of the concept of the divine.

So you have thousand names of Vishnu, of Devi etc.

When you understand the meaning of these names, you get a better understanding of the divine nature around us. Whatever we may call it, apart from the quantitative nature of science, there is a qualitative effect on us of our surrounding. The RiShi-s tried to explain that in simpler ways through metaphors, and hence all the stories started.

After all the understanding, you realize that the Divine doesn't work for you, but through you. So, understand it, rather than blame it for your misfortunes.

One among the many of the names of Devi is सर्वार्थसाधिका  (sarvArthasAdhikA) in this famous shloka:

ॐ
सर्वमंगलमांगल्ये = sarvamangalamAngalye = o mangala of all mangala-s (-A changes to -e when you are addressing)
शिवे = shive = o shivaa, auspicious one (-A changes to -e when you are calling out to shivA)
सर्वार्थसाधिके = sarvArthasAdhike = o realiser of all purooses
शरण्ये = sharaNye = o worthy of refuge
त्र्यम्बके = tryambake = o three eyed one
गौरि = gauri = o gauree (-ee change to -i when you are calling gauree)
नारायणि =nArAyaNi = o nArAyaNee (-ee changes to -i)
नमोस्तुते = namo'stute = नमः अस्तु ते = namaH astu te = salutations be for you

sarva artha sAdhikA = one who realizes/accomplished all purposes

The force of Life working through you, accomplishes everything. Devi resides in all of us in the form of power, hunger, sleep, mercy, compassion, valor, ... (yA devI sarvabhUteShu, या देवी सर्वभूतेषु ). We realize our goals by our karma, and Devi helps us do karma through our abilities.

The shloka says सर्वार्थसाधिके (sarvArthasAdhike). The last -A turned into an -e, as in aye, say, way.
This means O sarvArthasAdhikA! So we are directly talking to her, and remembering her many qualities.For words ending in -ee, the ending becomes short -i when calling.

May that Devi help you accomplish, realize all your goals through your own good karma!.



(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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Navaratram - नवरात्रम् - the Nine-Night festival

Happy Navaratram to all!

On 13th, started the navarAtram (नवरात्रम्) , or navarAtra (नवरात्र) as commonly, the trailing m is dropped in many Indian languages.
The word comes from - nava = nine; rAtri = night; navarAtram = group of nine nights.

nava-rAtram is not "nine nights", it is "a group of nine nights", more on that below.

HOW MANY?
There are actually a total of five such groups of 'navarAtram' in a year, though major one is in sharat (शरत्) - just before winter, a little before the crops will come in (two fortnights from now).

Saraswati is called shAradA (शारदा), who onsets of sharat season. The Hindi word 'sardi' (सर्दी) comes from sharad as well.

WHAT AND WHY DO WE CELEBRATE?
Mother gives birth. Father may or may not be needed for propagation of life, but mother is always needed, at least one agent, to conceive, protect, and foster life.

Earth, giving everything that we need, is our Supreme Mother. Hence, the celebrations of the Mother force, just before the harvest season.

The Mother Force, or the Life Force will always win, and this victory is celebrated during this time. "Life will find a way" - from Jurassic Park may seem more modern and hip, but the idea is very ancient and very Indian.

For nine nights, after a long day's work is over, the Mother force is celebrated in all its various aspects - the knowledge, power, resource, wrath, justice. In contrast to today's entertainment outlets, our festivals were entertainment events embraced with spiritual metaphors, stories of awe and inspiration, reflection and coming together.
May you do that as well, along with shopping and revelry.


LANGUAGE:
Did you know that It is *not* nava-ratri (नवरात्रि) ! (Note the last vowel)
How could it be? Nine is plural, and rAtri is singular (night). Subtle language nit-picking?

Nine nights would be translated as 'nava rAtrayaH' (नवरात्रयः) = plural
navarAtram = a collection of nine nights! = singular

See the difference?

In modern times, in some regions, people say it as 'navarAtrA' (नवरात्रा) as well, that is more closer to the original that nava-rAtri. But it should not be a long 'aa' (आ) at the end, it is short but clear 'a', (अ) as in u of cut.



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Those who travel in space

Rarely you will find a language where every letter has a meaning. And by this I don't mean  such meanings as in - "What does FRIEND mean?
F = Forever
R = Reliable
I = Indispensable
E = Entertaining
N = Noble
D = Dear."

Such meaning of letters are formed after the word is made, and centuries later when you are employed by the greeting card industry.

But in Sanskrit, every, almost every letter has a meaning, mostly as a root word from which other words are generated by specific linguistic and grammar rules. But we will not go there, too heavy!

The letter ख (kha) means 'space' as in the great frontier, or in ambiance surrounding you. Sky gets included automatically in it because from Earth, sky is the front yard to "Space - the great unknown".
So, we have words like: kha-gola-shAstra (खगोलशास्त्र) = astronotmy = the science of the orb of the space (or more literally space-orb-science)


The letter ग 'ga' is at the root of गम् / gam = 'to go'. See, even in English!
There are a large number of (a few hundred or more) words that can be made from 'gam'. While the verb formations will of course amount to a lot (for one goes, they go, you go, you all go, I go, we go ....) the nouns and adjectives are also amazingly abundant.

From the below list, I have removed the gender specific endings, to make these generic adjectives, just to keep things simpler:
    गत = gata = that who has gone
    गमनीय = gamaneeya = worth going to
    गन्तव्य = gantavya = worth going to, destination
    आगन्तुक = aagantuka = one who has come, guest? travelling salesman?

Here is how the word aagantuka forms from suffixes and prefixes:
aa (reverse) + gam (go) + -tum (desires to) + -ka (one who)

As a suffix, -ga would mean the one who goes.
I will save some words for other Kasts, and then we will see if you remember this Kast! :)

So, kha-ga ख-ग means 'One who travels, roams about, wanders in the space, sky'

So does it mean they had aliens travelling to India way back then?
Well, we all know a few space travelers ever since we know history, or our life's history.

The birds!

They are called khagaH (masculine) or khagA (feminine).
But technically, anything that moves in space/sky should be a khaga!
And you are right. So, the Sun is khagaH, so are planets, so is the firefly, the arrow, and even a kite.

So how do I know which meaning to apply? Either context will tell you clearly, or someone made a nice puzzle using the 'pun' intended of Sanskrit.

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(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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Of what use is science to the unintelligent?

How can shāstra help a person without self-intelligence?

What will a mirror do, for the one devoid of sight?

shAstra is that which is an authority. A field or a work in that field that is authoritative work, could be any of the –logies that we know, or seminal works in these fields. It is what you fall back on when you have doubt. It could be the dharma-shAstra, artha-shAstra, or any such works that people referred to when in doubt. It can even be the Veda, Upanishad, Gita etc.

But such a shAstra can only help those who have some intelligence of their own. Why? When you don’t apply your own intelligence to the matter at hand, you will never make the truth your own; it will never be part of you. You may babble it out, but you have not understood it. If the situation changes a little bit, the solution won’t fit and you won’t know how to modify the solution to fit the changed situation. That is when, you would say “I don’t know or care, this is how it has been done always, and this is how I will do.” And therein begins the fall of humanity’s progress in whichever field it is. Chandogya Upanishad explains this very clearly in 7:17:1 and 7:18:1 about the who can understand the truth? One who meditates, contemplates, mulls over it, only then the truth becomes yours.

This happens a lot in spiritual and religious fields as well. While in Sanatana dharma aka Hinduism, there are still many previous works to refer to when in doubt, other religions don’t have that luxury or provision. And it is but natural that the conditions in the society are not same as they were 1500 or 3000 years back. Are the shAstra-s themselves flexible enough to allow reinterpretation for changed times? Are they algebra with formulas where in you can feed new values to get results for changed times? Or are they arithmetic so that we don’t know the basic principles which we can apply to changed situations.

A mirror will help you make up only if you have your own eyes. If you are borrowing someone else’s eyes, you don’t need the mirror, that other person will correct your makeup. In which case you are forever dependent on that person - be it a guru or a swami or a priest or a padre.

If you don’t open your eyes, use your intelligence and get up with some initial help from others, you will always be crawling, crying, scared, dependent, helpless like a baby, yet adamant and ever-ready to charge others, like a bull.

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And now the language aspects -

यस्य नास्ति स्वयं प्रज्ञा शास्त्रं तस्य करोति किम् ।

लोचनाभ्यां विहीनस्य दर्पणः किं करिष्यति ॥ (Devanagri)
Hitopadesh 3:119

yasya nāsti svayaṃ prajñā shāstraṃ tasya karoti kim |

lochanābhyāṃ vihīnasya darpaṇaḥ kiṃ kariṣhyati || (IAST)

yasya nAsti svayaM praj~nA shAstraM tasya karoti kim |

lochanAbhyAM vihInasya darpaNaH kiM kariShyati || (ITRANS)

yasya = whose

nAsti = na asti = not is

svayaM = self, of one’s own

praj~nA = intelligence (also spelt as praGYA, or pragya)

shAstraM = sciences, shAstra

tasya = that person’s

karoti = does

kim = what?

lochanAbhyAM = from the two eyes (it is a usage thing, goes with vihIna, devoid of the eyes)

vihInasya = of the one who is devoid (that is of the one who is devoid of the two eyes)

darpaNaH = mirror

kiM = what

kariShyati = will do?

Apte's dictionary defines shAstra as:

शास्त्रम् [शिष्यते$नेन शास्-ष्ट्रन्] 1 An order, a command, rule, precept; अतिक्रामति यः शास्त्रं पितुर्धर्मार्थदर्शिनः Mb.5.148. 21. -2 A sacred precept or rule, scriptural injunction; तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रमाणं ते कार्याकार्यव्यवस्थितौ Bg.16.24. -3 A religious or sacred treatise, sacred book, scripture; see comps. below. -4 Any department of knowledge, science; इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रम् Bg.15.2; शास्त्रेष्वकुण्ठिता बुद्धिः R.1.19; often at the end of comp. after the word denoting the subject, or applied collectively to the whole body of teaching on that subject; वेदान्तशास्त्र, न्यायशास्त्र, तर्कशास्त्र, अलंकार- शास्त्र &c. -5 What is learnt, knowledge; Śi.5.47. -6 A work, treatise;  

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(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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Was Ramayan real or mythology?

When it comes to Ramayana and Mahabharata, Indians are missing a very grave point, which has only been brought in debate by external factors. Did Ramayana actually happen? Did Hanuman have a tail? How could a monkey fly?

No such questions are asked of Yoda, Spider-man, Wonder-woman or Avengers.

What you have in Ramayana and other epics is to bring in the story element as well. Don't forget that these were written/composed specifically to impart Vedic wisdom to those who don't have the aptitude, attitude or time for the subtle revelations of Vedic seers, distilled after a long lifetime. I am not exaggerating or kidding.

E=mc^2 has no meaning to the uninitiated yet it not Einstein's fault.

To make it interesting a prof like Feynman or some one may create a whole kids' drama with characters like Mr Photon, Mrs Energy, Master Mass, and Prof ZappedHair and so on.

Will this play be mythology?

Will you debunk it every time and rather than focus on the message focus on the feasibility of a talking Mr Photon?

Next time someone asks these questions to you, simply answer this:

Focus on the message, and the super story-telling of the ancients, like you do with Spiderman's 'With great power comes great responsibility.' Respected speakers paid by the $1000s/hour will quote this and be applauded.

So, read the story of Ramayana, enjoy the story telling if you are kid at heart, and if you are a bit grown up in the mind, marvel the deep wisdom scattered all over in the dialogues of characters.

Don't analyze people's faith in Rama or Hanuman, be it your grandmother or the maid. Encourage it. With that, encourage understanding the message.

As Vidura (and later Kabir) points out, one of the trait of the wise is to grasp the essence.

At various stages of your growth, the essence will keep shrinking. As a kid it is an ultimate truth that Hanuman flew with the mountain on his pinky and what not. At 80 you may be seeing Hanuman in everything and person and understand it as the roaming atma looking for the parama-atma, the source; and devoting to the supreme for no selfish motive (unlike Sita, Lakshman, Sugreev, Vibhishan, Angad etc who all had some duty or interest to be with Rama).

Hanuman was the only one who had no reason to be loyal to Rama, and was the only one who was immediately attracted to Rama.

If you remember his childhood, he can go anywhere (immense powers of imagination?) being the son of wind, and when he goes to eat the Sun, Indra intervenes, hits him with vajra and the kid monkey falls, breaks his chin (hanu) and thus gets the name Hanuman (the one with the [broken] chin).

Then all gods (symbols of powers) give him supreme powers, and the kid becomes mischievous and disturbs everyone. The RiShis can't take his powers but can make him forget till someone reminds him.

That is us, with immense power but no recollection. When the need arises, some arise and become Hanuman, rescuing the situation. Others keep sleeping.

Did Ramayana really happen? If not, I will stop taking Rama and his message seriously?

The question is - did it ever stop happening?

It happens in all of us, all the time.

If you can't get the metaphor, enjoy the story, and call Hanuman as Yoda or c3po or whatever, but don't lessen the joy of a story, then you lose the story, and never got the message to begin with (double whammy!)

A very valid point brought out by a friend:

"Totally agree with you about Ramayana (and Mahabharata) still playing out in people's lives in some form or the other. But why should one not enjoy the story, get the metaphors, AND look for historical clues in the epic? Given that this was composed a very long time ago, there are bound to be historical clues. Let's not ignore them."

Sure, but there will be no point researching if monkeys can fly or if Hanuman's tail could grow infinitely in the court, there will be no such species possible who can increase its body mass and length to such proportions. Lizards can grow a tail but that too takes a few hours/days.

Surely, researchers of language, society etc. take Ramayana and Mahabharata seriously for its depiction of the flora, fauna, geography, society, norms, values. That is how they even accuse Hindus of having a woman-oppressing society based on Sita's agni-pariksha etc. (which is a detraction actually, but that is another topic).

So scholars use them for tracking history.

But it should be reasonable. For example, another interesting point could be - there is no mention of script in Ramayana! Does that lend any credibility to its antiquity?  

So, 

Stop questioning 'Was it real?'

Start questioning 'What does it mean?'

 

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[Added 9th Aug 2015]

A lot of discussion went over in FB. Here is my recent summarizing comment (after a lot of comments by others):

Interesting discussions, viewpoints.

The main intention for the article was for people who believe in ancient Indian scriptures and thoughts (this is the widest net I can throw that captures all people who believe in the Indian thought system of Sanatana Dharma aka 'Hinduism' and its offshoots) when they may face other detractors who have nothing better to do, by choice or design, the detractors have used such logic of 'scientific inconsistencies' and tried to debunk them.

For those situations, remember, the essence is the wisdom, the serenity the deep messages give us. These messages whether originally from God, Rama, Vishnu or anyone (actually immaterial), were transmitted to us via humans (very wise and caring humans, RiShis, AchArya-s etc.) and have a lot of value.

This value is enhanced if one has some level of faith, liking, respect for the scriptures. (You can replace this in any other religion's case as well, but there will be a difference pointed out later between the two). Even the wise seers themselves say for search of any truth - truth is obtained from shraddhA (respectful belief in something, that is you can't keep doubting everything all the time, you can question, and inquire but still need faith, even if it is in the scientific process itself, even if it is in logic itself. A logical person will not forget that human beings are full of emotions and other illogical things as well)

So, have respectful faith in the scriptures, even if you don't fully understand them, but also, try to understand them as well, feel them as well. Your duty is not over merely by paying physical respect to them like folding hands and offering flowers. It has to be followed by understanding it, experiencing it, and liberating yourselves, or at least being a nice human being in the society.

While these apply to all religions, the basic difference between Sanatana Dharma principles and other religions is - Hinduism doesn't invoke violence against others based on opinions, beliefs etc; it only invokes appropriate action against illegal, unethical, unjust people based on their actions to keep an order in the society. That is why you can see greatest extent of variety only in Indian society (and possibly China). This is unfathomable for outsiders to grasp, and they try to simplify, which causes problems.

While others go outright on attack mode (physical or on thoughts) to curb and convert for politico-religious gains.

Why this difference? If you find any blatantly wrong in any later scripture, you can refer to a previous one and get clarification. And usually, when wise and experienced people apply sound judgement to the truths of the ancient times and interpret them honestly for the changed time and space, you get good results. In case of Hinduism, such people are becoming less and less who can understand, interpret, caring for all, open to change keeping greater good in mind; in case of others, their single book allows no other interpretation, even if they were to land on planet X6Z-317 in upper Andromeda or what ever you have. They will still have the same one book for inner growth and that is the problem.

But that is not what I wanted to say in this post. I am not going to that side.

I am addressing only to those who have something to do with the Indian scriptures. What should they keep in mind, when distracted? That was the only point of the post.

It is a weird and sad situation where every statement has to be clarified with ten footnotes and 5 disclaimers else someone or the other will give it another spin. smile emoticon smile emoticon No conversation can continue without some basic common ground and understanding,

All ideas are most welcome.
ॐ

(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
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