ARYA SAMAJ MUST PROSELYTIZE OR PERISH

AUM ARYA SAMAJ MUST PROSELYTIZE OR PERISH By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM India that is Bharat is the largest democracy of the world. At least the constitution of the country affirms in its preamble that India is a sovereign , secular, democratic Republic. The ground realities, however, are different. The common man or the AAM AADAMI in whose name and in whose behalf the democratic show is run is just on the periphery. He and she are ignored by the powers that be and perpetually remain ignorant about the system of governance. Consequently the poor aam aadami continues to be poor despite all the Gharibi Hatao Abhiyan launched by various political parties in power. The political parties come to power by making use of various permutation and combination of caste and creed. Although India is a secular country but it is just an outward show. Most of the political parties take recourse to rabid communalism to win elections and form governments. Right from the Prime Minister to the Sewa Dal swyamsewak encourage the local electorate to think and act on narrow communal lines. In Mizoram and Nagaland Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had spoken of Christendom because the majority of voters there are Christians by faith. Even the super-secular Communist leaders in Kerala promoted Islamic communalism by carving out a Muslim majority district in Kerala and named it Mallapuram. When Mullahs talk of implementing Shariah, and issue diktats to the areas of influence, the Samajwadi party of Mulayam Singh and its young Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav turn a deaf ear and decline to comment on such unconstitutional activities. GAME OF NUMBERS A citizen uninitiated in the complex political chakravyuh might be wondering why do political parties pamper the minority communities and ignore the majority community, that is the Hindus. The ground reality is that the Hindus are not a majority community in some States and other regions, numerically speaking. On paper the Hindus are shown as a majority community but on ground they are a minority and yet they do not receive the benefits given to the minorities all over the country. Even where the Hindus are in majority, they stand divided on caste lines and thus do not make an impact electorally. However, if and when a polarisation takes place on communal lines, the Hindu candidates gain and their political party is able to form a government too. However, on an all-India basis, the Hindu-oriented political parties are yet to make a lasting impact because in many States the non-Hindus vote together to defeat the Hindu-oriented candidate. How one wishes that in Bharat where the Hindus form eighty percent plus of the population, the Hindus are cared for, their voice is heard and non-Hindus dare not think of passing legislation to harm their interests permanently. The answer lies in Hindus increasing their numerical strength on an all-India basis to have a say in the political set up of the country. There are a number of factors that come in the way of Hindus increasing their numerical strength. If a Hindu male has more than one wife, his chances of siring many children brightens up. There was no problem in Hindu males having more than one living wife until the year 1955 when the Hindu Marriage Act was passed by the Parliament at the behest of some leaders who were interested in having their own sons or daughters divorced by spouses and remarry thereafter. The new law brought in the draconian law of divorce and disturbed the family harmony of the Hindus too. Even the Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure at some of the disturbing sections of the Act that brought more disharmony in the Hindu social set up than ever before. No less a person than Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India was opposed to the original bill called the Hindu Code Bill that would have damaged the fabric of the Hindu social order irreparably. Nehru, the architect of the Hindu Code Bill had to backtrack since opposition to the misconceived reform in jurisprudence was tremendous. Nevertheless, Nehru had his way in case of the Hindu Marriage Act. A question arises; why this zeal of Nehru and his ilk for reforming the personal law of the Hindus alone. Why not reform the personal law of the Muslims whose women suffer virtual imprisonment in house and lack fresh air throughout life? Why allow four living wives to a Muslim male and not to others? Is it secularism that the Constitution vouches for? Why has the Directive Principle of the Constitution to have a Common Civil Code for all citizens of India not yet been implemented? Why are the Muslims having a legal holiday and consider themselves to be above common law? These questions go to the root cause of electoral process being exploited to come to power and favour those minority communities who ganged up to push their benefactors to power. Thus we once again go back to the question of numerical majority in the whole country to influence the results at the hustings. The Hindus may wield political influence again provided they make up their mind to vote unitedly and bring those to power who champion the cause of the Hindus. Family Planning has also affected the Hindus adversely. After the policy to have small families was implemented, the Hindus went whole hog for it since they could realise benefits of a planned small family. However, the number of Hindus in the country kept on dwindling and hardly any economic benefits accrued to them for observing family planning both in letter and spirit. On the other hand the Roman Catholic Christians, the religion that Sonia Gandhi professes and so do her children, refused to have a planned family. They had as many children as they wished to have. No govt sanctions were imposed on them for this infringement of the govt policy. The Muslim community followed suit with a vengeance. Every Muslim male married many times and had four living wives who gave birth to countless children. The Government of India turned Nelson’s eye to this violation and no sanctions were imposed because the Congress party needed the Muslim support as their vote-bank. THE WAY OUT Notwithstanding the political scenario being bad for the majority community, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The light shining over there beckons the Hindus and counsels them to the effect that they must strive to increase their numbers as citizens of India . To start with, the Hindus must launch an agitation to stop the influx of the Bangladeshi Muslims and to some extent Pakistani Muslims from entering into India and eventually settling down to become citizens with voting rights. The illegal immigrants are Muslims and they invariably vote for those candidates who promote illegal immigration and making States like Assam and Bengal Muslim majority entities. Thus fake citizens exercise their non-existent right to vote at the national elections and it adversely affects the interests of the Hindus. Again we go back to the need of increasing the numerical strength of the Hindus so that they are not forced by an unconstitutional government to leave their home and hearth to become refugees in their own land. Unfortunately, that situation that was once considered to be a myth became a reality in Jammu and Kashmir when almost all Hindus were forced to leave their ancestral homes in the Kashmir valley and move into shanty huts in Jammu. We must not allow that history to repeat itself in the States like Assam, Bengal, Kerala and so on. In order to avoid the Muslim domination the Hindus have to increase their numerical strength by abandoning family planning, one man-one wife law and thus becoming a numerical minority in their own homeland. ARYA SAMAJ MUST STEP-IN Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati had converted two Muslims to the Vedic Dharm while on a preaching mission in Dehra Dun and Lucknow. Those two gentlemen were influenced by the discourses of the Rishivar and volunteered to become Hindus. Of course, the 20th century Mathura-Agra belt saw a major activity in the realm of religion when the Muslim Malkana Rajputs, whose ancestors were forced to convert to Islam long ago by the Moghul emperor, Aurangzeb, beseeched Swami Shraddhanand Saraswati, an Arya Sanyasi of repute and founder of Gurukul Kangri, to take them in their ancestral fold of Vedic Dharm. Swami Shraddhanand did it with great enthusiasm in the presence of His Highness Maharana Mewar and Pundit Madan Mohan Malviya. The proselytization movement that Swami Shraddhanand launched was a great success. The morale of the Hindus went sky high as their numbers swelled beyond expectations. The movement was, however, cut short when a bigoted Muslim shot Swami ji dead. The man was hanged but the Arya Samaj lost a great leader who was bold and fearless. The great ambition of Swami Ji has to be fulfilled now in the 21st century. Of late, the Arya Samaj in India and abroad has been organising a number of International Mahasammelan of Aryas. Aryas assemblein large numbers, listen to religious discourses, are enlightened and then head for home. Thousands of rupees are collected from both the meek and the mighty and spent on board and lodging of the devotees who come from far and wide. Many an Arya who views these Mahasammelans dispassionately asks the organisers: What has the Arya Samaj gained by this colossal exercise and how many new convertees from Islam and Christianity can we boast of? The glaring doubts remain in their original form in the minds of questioners. A good Arya is encouraged to get his doubts removed but there is rarely an opportunity given in the Sammelan to do so. Young children and adolescents are conspicuous by their absence from the venue. One wonders how can the new generation or Gen X have an imprint of the Arya Samaj? Some Aryas advocate buying TV time and doing Ved prachar there to reach a wider and more varied audience. There will be lesser hassles in organising a TV talk or question-answer session than in organising a Mahasammelan. Indeed delegates from many countries assemble and compare notes for the good of the Gen Next. The argument is quite logical but it has its flaws too. In a Sammelan, the Vedic Vidwan and the audience sit face to face, there is an eye contact and the rapport between the two goes a long way in letting Vedic principles permeate. “No computer or TV can replace a teacher or an Acharya in imparting education and letting SANSKAR set in in a disciple or a young Grihasth.”Likewise an Arya Sammelan is irreplaceable by a TV talk show. Of course, some thinking Arya leaders have found a via media to satisfy both the schools of thought. Let an Arya Mahasammelan go on and let it be televised LIVE for the benefit of those who could not make it to the venue. Proselytize we must. The Arya Samaj must ponder over this point and formulate a plan to launch a drive for SHUDDHI. In the first phase the Arya Samaj may concentrate on those individuals and families who crossed the Lakshman Rekha and went to the camp of our enemies and adversaries. Love Jihad had taken its toll and poaching on our young ones has been going on for some time. We must reverse that trend, here and now. May I invoke the blessings of Ishwar, our Param Pita Parmatma for the success of the Arya Samaj in playing the Number Game with consummate skill and coming out of the arena with roaring success. Email : upvanom@yahoo.com or sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com Mobile – 9811173590. Phone : 0091-120-2454622.

NIRANTARTA OR CONTINUITY BY SUDHA SAWANT

1 of 1,905 >< Why this ad?Premium Military Housing - www.dtiproperties.com - DTI specializing in quality and affordable military housing. 512 ma's artical Inboxx gaurav sawant gauravcsawant@yahoo.com 9:32 AM (12 hours ago) ओ3म् निरन्तरता सुधा सावंत जीवन निरंतर बाधा रहित चलता रहे ,यह सोचना अच्छा लगता है ।हमरी सांस निरंतर चलती रहे ,सब ओर कुशल मंगल रहे,यह सोचना अच्छा लगता है । नदी अपनी तेज गति से आगे बढती रहे यह देखना अच्छा लगता है ।हमारी सांसों मे निरंतरता जरूरी है,नदी की गति में निरंतरता जरूरी है ,हमारे कुछ सीखने पढने में अभ्यास की निरंतरता जरूरी है।हम निरंतर अभ्यास ना करें, हम कुछ सीख नहीं पाएंगे ,नदी की गति रुक जाए ,पानी सूख जाए तो नदी का अस्तित्व समाप्त हो जाएगा .यह निरंतरता ही उनके अस्तित्व की पहचान है ।यह जीवात्मा भी इसी तरह एक शरीर छोड कर दूसरा शरीर धारण कर लेता है ,किन्तु आत्मा एक ही रहती है ऐसा हमारे आप्त पुरुष, ऋषि-मुनि हमें बताते रहे हैं, हमें इस बात पर विश्वास करना चाहिए। आप कहेंगे ,चलिए आपकी इस बात विश्वास कर लिया कि आत्मा शाश्वत है,पर इस के द्वारा आप समझाना क्या चाहते हैं सरल सी बात है,यदि आप आत्मा के शाश्वत रूप को मानते हैं तो यह भी मान लीजिए कि हम अपनी सोच से अपने कार्यों से जो कुछ भी सोचते - करते हैं ,उनके संस्कार भी आत्मा पर प़डते रहते हैं । मनोवैज्ञानिकों ने यह प्रयोगों द्वारा सिद्ध कर के भी दिखाया है ।उनका यह प्रयोग मेंडल्स थ्योरी के नाम से जाना जाता है। इसमें उन्होंने यह सिद्ध किया कि माता-पिता के अर्जित गुण उनके बच्चों में आजाते हैं।फिर घर का वातावरण भीउनको वैसा ही मिलता है तो वे गुण और भी अच्छी तरह से पनपते हैं ।इसीलिए अक्सर देखा गया हैकि संगीतकार,चित्रकार,वैज्ञानिक या खिलाडियों के बच्चों में सामान्यतया वे गुण आ ही जाते हैं जो उनके माता-पिता में होते हैं ।माता-पिता के अर्जित गुणों के संस्कार उनके जीन्स से बच्चों की जीन्स नें आ जाते हैं। अब सोचिए किहम जो संस्कार अपनी जीन्स पर डाल रहे हैं या दर्शन की भाषा में कहें कि जो संस्कार हम अपने सूक्ष्मशरीर पर डाल रहे हैं वे भी तो हमारी आत्मा की निरंतरता के कारण हमारे नए जन्म के साथ हमें मिल जाएंगे । श्रीमद् भगवद्गीता में योगेश्वर श्री कृष्ण ने भ्रम में पडे अर्जुन को यही बात समझाई थी कि हम अपने इस जीवन में जो कुछ कर रहे हैं सीख रहे हैं वह पूरी तरह से नहीं कर पाए तो कोई बात नहीं।हमारे सूक्ष्मशरीर पर तो वे संस्कार बन ही जाते हैं ,इस शरीर के नष्ट होजाने पर भी आत्मा के साथवे जन्म के समय दूसरे शरीर में भी आ जाते हैं और तब जीवात्मा नए सिरे से अपने अधूरे कामों को पूरा करने के लिए कार्यरत होजाती है ।यह क्रम पूर्णताप्राप्ति तक चलता ही रहता है--- श्रीकृष्ण कहते हैं –तत्र तं बुद्धिसंयोगं लभते पौर्वदेहिकम् यतते च ततो भूय संसिद्धौ कुरुनन्दन।। अर्थात हे कुरुनन्दन ,वह पुरुष वहां पूर्वदेह में प्राप्त किएहुए ज्ञान से संपन्न होकर सफलता के लिए फिर से प्रयत्न करता है । आत्मा की निरंतरता तथा उस पर पडे संस्कारों के विषय में यह बात योगेश्वर श्रीकृष्ण जी ने कही है ,आप्तवचन है हमें इस पर विश्वास करना चाहिए।अब चलिए कुछ उदाहरण देखते हैं --- आठवीं शताब्दी में हुए आद्यगुरु शंकराचार्य के लिए कहते हैं कि बचपन से उनमें कुछ अलौकिक शक्तियां थीं।स्वयं निर्धन थे। एक याचक को द्वार पर भिक्षा मांगते देखकर सोचा मेरे पास तो केवल आंवले हैं,वही दे देता हूं और वे आंवले ।आत्मज्ञान प्राप्ति की लगन इतनी थीकि नौ वर्ष की आयु में हीसंन्यास ले लिया था ।वेद आदि का अध्ययन किया ,भाष्य लिखे।आत्मज्ञान प्राप्त किया ।केवल तेईस वर्ष तक जीवित रहे किन्तु इस संसार को आत्मा की निरंतरता के बारे में बताने में सफल रहे।हम आज भी उन्हें आद्यगुरु शंकराचार्य के रूप में श्रद्धा से स्मरण करते हैं । महर्षि स्वामी दयानन्द सरस्वती से तो हम सभी परिचित हैं।बालक मूलशंकर केरूप में सच्चे शिव को जानने की इच्छा जाग्रत हुई । युवावस्था तक आते-आते संसार से विमुख हो संन्यास लेलिया।छत्तीस वर्ष की आयु में दंडी स्वामी विरजानन्द के शिष्य बने,अष्टाध्यायी व वेदों का ज्ञान प्राप्त किया और पौने तीन वर्षों में वेदों का ज्ञान प्राप्त करके ,गुरु विरजानन्द की आज्ञानुसार वेदो का प्रचार करने लगे। सारी मानवता को सत्य का प्रकाश देने लगे। उनकी पुस्तक सत्यार्थ प्रकाश पढ़िये बात समझ आने लगेगी। यह बात केवल अध्यात्म ज्ञान के लिए ही नही है। 1857 में झांसी की रानी लक्ष्मीबाई की वीरता की बात आप सभी ने पढ़ी और सुनी होगी। बचपन से ही वीरता और स्वाभिमान के गुण कूट कूट कर भरे थे उनमें। बालिका होते हुए भी तीर चलाना, सैन्य घेरना, घुड़सवारी करना उनके प्रिय खेल थे। देश को आज़ाद कराने की लगन मन में भरी हुई थी। झांसी की रानी केवल 23 वर्ष तक इस संसार में रहीं परंतु अपनी वीरता और सैन्य कुशलता से विदेशियों तक को चमत्कृत कर के रख दिया था । स्वाभिमान की जीती जागती साकार प्रतिमा थी। निश्चय ही उनके पूर्व जन्म के संस्कार उनके पास थे जो इस जीवन को पूर्णता को प्राप्त हुए। आप अपने आस पास भी ऐसे अनेक बालक बालिकाओं को बड़े युवको महिलाओं को देखते होंगे और कहते होंगे कि बड़े संस्कारी थे। तो इन बातो पर विश्वास कीजिए और अपने इस जीवन को तथा आने वाले अनेक जीवनों को सुधारने, सफल बनाने की नीवं रखना आरंभ कीजिए। क्योंकि यह शाश्वत सत्य है कि हमारे सूक्षम शरीर पर हमारे विचारों के हमारे अर्जित ज्ञान के संस्कार पड़ते रहते हैं। यदी हम चाहें तो निरंतर ज्ञान प्राप्त कर के अच्छे कर्म करते हुए उन्नति के पथ पर आगे बढ़ सकते हैं। चरम लक्ष्य को पा सकते हैं। सुधा सावंत 609, सेक्टर 29 नोएडा 201303

WILL BHARAT AND PAKISTAN EVER BE FRIENDS?

AUM WILL BHARAT AND PAKISTAN BECOME FRIENDS By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM It takes two to Tango. If one fellow tries it, he or she will be laughed at. Similarly it takes two countries or two persons to make friends. If there are more than two, it would be absolutely fine. The more the merrier. Making friends of a lasting nature is important to improve the international understanding and bring about Peace and Prosperity. Of course, to become effective in so, first, at home and later in the locality.With a view to solving problems of international levels, it is imperative that our Mr Fixit takes to solving disputes locally. She may step out thereafter solving international problems, it is important that one solves problems at various levels locally. That is the path of welfare that leads to the sanctuaries and beyond. Looking at this problem-solving get- together one finds it as a stepping stone for solemnising a decent marriage at a later stage. One may understand that it is in these Mandaps that a prospective bride meets her Man, the groom. The rest is just history. FRIENDSHIP ACROSS BORDERS Friendship means Give and Take. It cannot be just one-way street. The ideas, the interests and cash plus kind flow both ways. It is purely a personal matter between two individuals. It is based on national policy promoting public interest and to forge friendship the two neighbouring countries have to make suitable mutual adjustments. Nevertheless, if help is sought for, it should be given post haste on humanitarian grounds. Rendering help to a neighbouring country makes an impact on the hearts and minds of common people and in the long run the common people influence shaping of the foreign policy. Thus large heartedness promotes friendship across borders. Transparency is required in dealing with neighbouring countries. The days of cloak and dagger policy are gone. If there is an element of suspicion, mutual respect and friendship between neighbouring countries will remain a distant dream. The over-riding desire of the military of one nation to have a shooting war with a neighbouring nation in order to avenge a defeat suffered in the past will create an insurmountable hurdle, a non-negotiable road block preventing a smooth passage of the Friendship Train. The two neighbouring nations have to make a separate as well as a joint assessment to convince themselves of the gains of Peace and Friendship vis-a-vis hostility leading to a shooting war. Frankly speaking, Peace pays rich dividends and promotes prosperity provided the road block of the over-riding urge to avenge a past defeat is sublimated to the new neighbourly friendship concept Absence of hostility and above all elimination of factors leading to a clash of arms will bring in both mental and physical security. Security of own nation and that of a neighbouring nation brings economic prosperity and raises the standard of living of average citizens across the borders. Indeed it requires a Leadership of high calibre to be far sighted and be a visionary in the interest of international peace. Let us take a look at the leaders of India and Pakistan and assess their impact on the foreign policies of their respective nations. LEADERSHIP IN BHARAT AND PAKISTAN Since 1947 when the Indian sub-continent gained independence and was partitioned into dominion of India and dominion of Pakistan, the former had had the privilege of being a democracy with Rule of Law being the hallmark of governance. The general elections held every five years expressed the will of the people and ushered in governments that ,by and large, were governed by the Constitution of India and the govts governed the people. The Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary exercised their constitutional powers of checks and balances. India has been having a strong military that always remained apolitical and cared for the defence of the Nation. The Indian Armed Forces defeated the Pakistan Armed Forces every time India was attacked and forced the Pakistan forces to withdraw, made light of their jingoism and even dismembered Pakistan in the 1971 war. Pakistan was born in violence and was in turmoil right from Day One of its existence. In the beginning, it was the landed aristocracy that ruled the roost and did not deliver the goods as its governance was poor. The ruling class of feudal lords was self centered and the common man was an ignored class but kept happy by being called as the Defenders of Islam. With a view to leading the poor peasantry up the garden path, the country was renamed as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Perhaps it gave them an international recognition by the Islamic world but beyond that Islam was just an empty word for the poor and the hungry. The feudal mis-governance gave a cause to the Pakistan Army to stage a coup d’etat under the leadership of General Ayub Khan, the Sandhurst trained Pathan from the Frontier province. He ran the show for a decade and was subsequently replaced by General Yahya Khan. He itched for a war with India where he wished to teach that woman, read Indira Gandhi, a lesson. He had miscalculated and not only courted a shameful defeat at the hands of India but also lost the entire eastern wing of the country that became Bangladesh with the support of the Indian Army, the people and the leadership. Since then Pakistan has been unable to live down that international shame. Their leaders like General Pervez Musharraf made attempts to snatch the Indian territory like Kargil but were beaten back by the Indian Army. The low IQ of Pakistan’s leadership has been goading them to shun friendship with India and try to settle issues by force. Turning to Bharat, that is India, we find that it has been a prospering democracy from Day One. The thought of a coup d’etat never crossed the minds of even ambitious generals of the Indian Army. The nation has been growing from strength to strength and has carved a niche for itself in the international councils and the United Nations. On the other hand after Pakistan duped the United States in the war in Afghanistan, its credibility has been reduced to Zero. Pakistan has gained a notoriety of biting the hand that feeds it. If Pakistan has not been a loyal friend of USA despite receiving trillions of dollars in aid plus the sophisticated armaments, what assurance is there that it would be a faithful friend of India’s. The public pronouncements of both the civil and military leaders of Pakistan against India go to show the animosity that they have for a neighbouring nation. Let us take just one statement of General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Army Chief of Pakistan. When the US strategist put pressure on General Kayani to change the pattern of deployment of Pakistan forces and deployment should be Afghanistan centric and not India-oriented, GeneraL Kayani said that the threat perception from India against Pakistan has necessitated deployment of most of the armed forces on the eastern borders of Pakistan where they are poised to attack India. The Pakistan army chief further said that their officers and jawans would never attack the Taliban forces as the two are twins. Moreover, in case of a war with India, the Taliban terrorists would protect the flanks of the Pakistan Army against an attack by the Indian Army. The same logic of General Kayani and the same deployment of the Pakistan Armed Forces on the borders with India holds good even today ignoring friendly counselling of American strategists. Is it possible for Bharat and Pakistan to be friends when the Rulers of Pakistan, read the Army top brass, persist in holding inimical views and feelings for Bharat. With due apologies to the British imperialist poet, Rudyard Kipling, one may say, East is East, West is West; India and Pakistan shall never be friends. RAY OF HOPE Bharat does not entertain or display inimical feelings towards Pakistan. The Pakistan cine artists, singers both men and women come to India very often to put up shows, make money and go home satisfied in all respects. Heart, liver and Kidney patients from Pakistan come to India for surgery and face no hostility. So, one may say that the leaders of India will one day persuade the Pakistan leaders to shake off the Revenge Phobia and not only shake hands but embrace each other as friends. The policy planners in education in the government of Pakistan must have students text books of history, English and Urdu reread and have the text that encourages extremists in Pakistan to promote Hate Hindu; Hate India deleted for good. Unless similar drastic steps are taken in the realm of education, the minds of the new generation Pakistan citizens would continue to be hostile to neighbouring India and thus fritter away their energies on frivolous schemes. Forging friendship and emotional bonds between Bharat and Pakistan would remain distant dreams. Women of Pakistan are a cause of joy to the pro-friendship lobby. The new generation women of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Karachi, Peshawar are intelligent, educated, liberal and possess the courage of conviction. He other day I have had an opportunity to glance through a review of a new glossy women’s magazine named, Hello! Pakistan. It is amazing to read free, frank and fearless expressions that go to the extent of annoying the powers that be. The diktat of Taliban on the dress code for women does not run there. Well! Hello! Pakistan gave me a ray of hope and I surmised that the day is not far off when women of Pakistan will walk across the Wagah border just to say Hello to their sisters and friends in Bharat. A bold move of that nature might usher in friendship between Bharat and Pakistan otherwise the prospects of bon homie between men folk, especially those in the uniformed services, may not see sunny sunshine. Email : upvanom@yahoo.com Mobile : 0091-9811173590

SATYARTH PRAKASH EMBOLDENS READERS TO BE HUMAN BEINGS

AUM SATYARTH PRAKASH A CATALYST OF VEDIC RENAISSANCE By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM France and Flanders of 1914. The First World War between Germany, Turkey and nations under their influence were on one side; England, France, their allies and colonies were in the opposite camp. Indeed the result was known to both the belligerent camps even before the battles were fought and lost by the German soldiers and their friendly nations. SATYARTH PRAKASH OR THE LIGHT OF TRUTH, a magnum opus of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, that had made godmen, false prophets, magicians masquerading as Mahants of many a centre of religion run for their money made a debut in the battle fields of France and Flanders among the Indian soldiers who hailed from the North India. Satyarth Prakash was distributed by some soldiers free of cost. One copy in the Urdu language was offered to my grand uncle and he accepted it with thanks. On cessation of hostilities and signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the bayonets were put back in scabbards, swords were sheathed and bullets returned to bandoliers. The newly introduced Tanks of the Allied powers was recalled to factories for additional trials The short service commissioned officers were given the option to go home or join one of the para-military forces, jawans and enlisted men made a beeline to their pre-war professions. My grand uncle, R.L. Sawant returned to his parent department with that prized copy of the Satyarth Prakash in his towed luggage. The book brought Renaissance in the life of our rural oriented family. Learning Vedic Thought was the new craze. The outward changes were brought about and the whole family, including women folk, were overjoyed in being consulted by men folk while decisions of far reaching importance were being made. The prefix “Munshi”before the surname, Sawant, was replaced by the new-fangled name, Mahashay. Many men and women liked it and loved to wear it on their sleeves. Rituals that smacked of some superstitious beliefs were given a go bye. The SANSKARS, sixteen of them, prescribed by Swami Dayanand Saraswati were now observed with a zeal and gusto unknown heretofore. Every effort was made to distance the Sawants from the traditional rituals and old superstitions. The neo-Aryas of the younger generation were more enthusiastic than the original Aryas of the pre-historic age. Be that as it may, a complete make over of the Sawant family and many more families of that ilk was undergone willingly, painlessly and with aplomb. One had to see it to believe that the wave of the Vedic Renaissance was around. Believe you me, one single book of 730 odd pages had done it. Named the Satyarth Prakash or Light of the Truth, the book was a masterpiece of the Vedic Philosophy of Life and also dealt with sundry subjects like Education, Marriages, Extinction of life that is Death, Rebirth, Death again and the cycle that has to be broken or sublimated in order to attain MOKSHA or liberation from that cycle of birth, death and rebirth. THE BOOK THAT WAS Not many men and women are aware of the fact that Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati wrote the book with the same name twice. His enemies in the realm of religion went out of their way to ensure that what came out of the printing press was not the same thing as what had been fed to the machines. 1875 – an important year indeed in the history of the Arya Samaj. That year the Arya Samaj was founded at Kakadwadi in Bombay, now Mumbai. The same year the First Edition of the Satyarth Prakash was published and lapped by the common man. Despite the printer’s devil, the book came as a welcome relief to Hindu man and women who were under attack from the Christian padre and the Muslim mullah. Preachers of the India-oriented faiths were not at all kind to the Aryas and a war of words at short notice always sprang up to the delight of the imported Padre and the Fez cap wearing bearded Mullah or the English speaking padre who spared no opportunity to make a swipe at the sexy stories of the Bhagwat Puran. Preaching the new concept eulogised in the Vedas was a hard nut to crack. Nevertheless the life went along at a place and a pace that hurt none but did not please anyone. The First Edition of the Satyarth Prakash written in 1874 but published in 1875 contained grave errors. The 13th chapter dealing with the Christianity and the 14th chapter dealing with the anomalies of Islam were left out of the Satyarth Prakash by the printers. Some whispers suggested that it was so devised so that the Christians and the Muslims are not annoyed. Swami Dayanand Saraswati noticed these grave errors and did not let them pass as Printer’s Devil. The great Sanyasi used to sit or stand in the centre with the script writers squatting around and penning down what the Rishivar dictated. Some of these pundits who were paid daily, surreptitiously interpolated and wrote on their own what the SANYASI had not dictated at all. At one place, the paid writers wrote sentences supporting meat eating. This had to be deleted before the 1883 edition of the Satyarth Prakash saw light of the day. There were a number of spelling mistakes too that could not be corrected before the First Edition was put on the shelf for sale. Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati was a bold man. He did not want to let the erroneous edition remain in the market for sale. He recalled all of them. He withdrew the Edition from the booksellers in toto to be revised and published afresh. The Swami did that before his sad demise in 1883. He himself corrected all the mistakes but the corrected edition could be marketed only after his death on 30th October 1883. Prof JTF Jordens of the University of Australia, a prolific writer on Dayanand Saraswati and Swami Shraddhanand Saraswati was pained at the interpolations and condemned the wrong-doers. He wrote that the First Edition was not available in the book market now. Thus the mischief mongers had limited access to the First Edition and the extent of the damage to the reputation of Swami Ji was thus contained. Let us leave it at that and explore other avenues where praise for the Second Edition is available. Let us examine that Edition that was published after the demise of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. THE PRESENT EDITION Taking the second edition of the Satyarth Prakash as it is, one finds that the order of chapters and their contents have been left undisturbed. The spelling mistakes have been, by and large, attended to. There are no glaring mistakes and the Satyarth Prakash, Fifth Edition, is acceptable to the Aryan word. The chapters criticizing Christianity and Islam have been made an indivisible part of the book.When Swami Dayanand Saraswati included some material, good or bad, who are we to delete the same. In the eye of a good Arya Samajist, an attempt in that direction will indeed be an exercise in futility. It must be abandoned forthwith. DEFENDING THE BOOK •Since 1883, the book in question has been coming under attack off and on. On the one hand the Muslim diehard and on the other hand filing court cases to ban the book in perpetuity has borne no result for them. Attempts to launch a series of violent episodes against the bookseller, M/S Rajpal and Sons came to a naught. A horse may be brought to water but it cannot be forced to drink it. The advocates of other religions have filed legal cases against the publishers and promoters of the English edition of the Satyarth Prakash. One is glad to note that the riff-raffs who did this to gain cheap publicity have failed miserably.Now there is no case pending against the Arya Samaj or the Satyarth Prakash in any court of law. ATTACK IS BEST FORM OF DEFENCE Before the advent of the Arya Samaj and the aggressive spirit inculcated into the Aryas through the reading, research and meditation on the principles of Defence enunciated in the sixth chapter of the Satyarth Prakash that puts forth Raj Dharm for both Raja and Praja,an average Hindu was always on the defensive and bore the verbal attack of followers of other religions rather meekly. This emboldened them beyond imagination and a shieldless Hindu cowered. However, the battle situation underwent a dramatic change with the publication of the Satyarth Prakash First Edition in 1875 followed by a more comprehensive edition containing 14 chapters unlike the First Edition that had only 12 chapters. The 1883 edition taught not only the Arya Samajists but also he-men of the dormant Hindu Samaj how to defend self, the family and the Hindu Dharma from the brutal onslaught of proselytising religions like Islam and Christianity. The Arya Samaj, emboldened by the teachings of the Satyarth Prakash and personal example set by Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati launched the Shuddhi movement and welcomed converts from other faiths with open arms. The recorded history bears witness to the fact that the writer of the Satyarth Prakash, Dayanand Saraswati Swami had motivated two Muslim men in Dehra Dun and Lucknow to convert to the Vedic Dharm which they did. Indeed in later years it was Shraddhanand Sanyasi, founder of the Gurukul Kangri, who brought back to the Vedic Dharma thousands of Muslim Malkana Rajputs and changed the scenario of religious conversations completely. The Aryas led the remaining Hindu community to develop a bold approach to life and launch attacks on those who were known pre-dators in the human society. The Hindus in general, led by the Arya Samajists, could now walk erect holding their heads high. And, pray, why not? All human beings have a right to live with honour and pay back the attacker in the same coins It is quite understandable that the new bold attitude to living life by votaries of the Vedic Dharma gave a jolt to the non-Hindus. I shall dismiss the complaints of non-Hindus by saying that the Thought and Action generated by the writings of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati in the Satyarth Prakash were the need of the hour. The magnum opus of the Aryas gave them and the rest of the Hindu samaj a place of honour under the firmament. They learnt how to be physically fit,mentally alert and spiritually robust to face any adverse situation, repulse any attack and assimilate any men and women of other faiths into the Vedic Dharma. I have no reason to complain if the non-Hindus launched court cases galoreagainst the Satyarth Prakash. They thought that if the source of moral strength of the Hindus was eliminated legally, their new-found freedom of Dharma would die a pre-mature death. How mistaken they were who seek sustenance from Heaven Four and Heaven Seven, that is Christians and Muslims respectively, because the make-believe world does not preserve, protect and defend the humanity living in the real world of today. Some pacifists among the Hindus are of the opinion that we should live and let live. Fine. But how far removed they are from the hard realities of the 21st century The leaders of the Muslim community in India, especially in Kerala have launched a movement called Love-Jihad.Their game plan is to entice the Hindu girls in their impressionable period of life, forcibly convert them to Islam and marry the Islamic way for form’s sake. Abandon them later or sell them into the flesh trade. No less a person than Justice Shankaran Nair, a sitting judge of the Kerala High Court, drew the attention of the govt to these nefarious activities and ordered the Police to investigate such cases and arrest the men indulging in marital fraud. It is here that the Satyarth Prakash is needed to be taught and the girls must be enlightened about the Vedic way of life and also how lowly life women who convert to Islam live. Pastors, priests, bishops and arch-bishops are on the war path of conversion in India that is Bharat.Their aim is to have as large a flock of Christians as possible to make the Shephard as happy as possible At whose cost will their flock increase? Obviousy at the cost of the Hindu community. Therefore, the Aryas who read the Satyarth Prakash and follow the advice of the Rishivar in preserving, protecting and defending the Vedic Dharm believers from numerous attacks in all types of sweetened schemes must now become Pro-Active. Let us not wait for the proslytising priests to go into remote hamlets, villages, tribal habitats and then launch a counter offensive to ward off their nefarious schemes. It is the duty of Dayanand’s disciples to remain alert all the time and not let a situation arise where we lose our brethren and sisters to the flock of Christ. Here again, it is the Satyarth Prakash that will come to our rescue to counter the false propaganda of Christian priests and not let our kith and kin go astray. In the grim situation today when the Hindu society is under surreptitious attack through stealth agencies that the Satyarth Prakash is needed by both the Purohit and plain Aryas. We must possess a personal copy each of the Satyarth Prakash printed and published in a language that we are comfortable in. Likewise, it is our religious obligation to freely give away copies of the Satyarth Prakash to people who cannot afford to buy themselves. Some copies of the Satyarth Prakash in English or Hindi or any other relevant language may be given away to students graduating from colleges. Even if ten per cent graduates read the Satyarth Prakash, our aim will be achieved. Let us make a beginning in this regard sometime somewhere. Let that sometime be NOW. If we make a beginning now, we will reach the destination and achieve our aim sooner than later. Indeed, Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati’s Satyarth Prakash has been the catalyst for the Vedic Renaissance and the entire Mankind has been the beneficiary. Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM UPVAN 609, Sector29, NOIDA -201303 INDIA Mobile: 0091-9811173590 Email: upvanom@yahoo.com or sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com

PINPOINTING PATRIOTS AND TRAITORS

AUM
PINPOINTING PATRIOTS AND TRAITORS
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
A general and a Jawan who have pledged their lives to the cause of the country’s defence and beating the wily enemy at his nefarious machinations are indeed patriots. How else can a man die better than defending his motherland? India that is Bharat would have lost Kargil but for the patriotic officers and soldiers who reconquered own territory at a heavy cost of losing life and limbs. They fought on bravely and showed unflinching loyalty to the Constitution and the commanders. In the face of our valiant men, the Pakistan army had turned tail. The world knows no patriots other than officers and men of the Indian Armed Forces who never questioned the orders of their commanders but fought on bravely in that valley of death.
I cannot resist the temptation of quoting Lord Tennyson when he eulogised chivalry of cavalry men of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War.
: Theirs not to reason why
But to do and die
Rode into the valley of death
Rode the Six Hundred.
Canon to the right of them
Canon to the left of them
Volleyed and thundered
Rode into the valley of death
Rode the six hundred.”
Indeed that was the case in Kargil too. Many brave soldiers made the supreme sacrifice to defend the nation. And yet the govt of India never thought of raising a memorial for them. The politicians in power are too busy saving their seat of power, in attracting greedy legislators and parliamentarians by bribing them to save their govt from a fall on the floor of the house. One wonders whether such members of the legislature or parliament can be trusted with the defence of the nation. They may deceive the trust reposed in them at the crucial juncture. Money means everything to them and for money they may sell themselves and the country. Are they patriots or traitors; let us leave it to the common man to decide.
ARMY CHIEF ALERTED US
The Indian Army is suffering from night blindness. Not the Jawans who come from rural areas where there are no dazzling lights to bind them but total darkness as there is no electricity. If the electric lines exist, load shedding deprives them of electric lighting. It is a blessing in disguise because their natural eyes can see in a dark environment some distance. But they need Night Vision to make their outfit operational by night as well as by day.
Gone are the days of Mahabharat when an absolute cease fire was observed withthe last rays of the setting sun. The arrows were removed from bows and put back in quiver; swords in raised arm to strike the enemy were lowered and sheathed the moment Retreat was sounded on the trumpet and big drums. Soldiers retired to their camps and even visited the adversary’s camp to compare notes and mourn the dead.
In modern warfare the shooting goes on irrespective of the time of the day or night. Formations move forward to contact the enemy, take him by surprise and annihilate, if feasible. Officers and soldiers cannot see much at night so they are issued the Night Vision devices to enable them to carry on with the operation of war. I am sorry to say that a few years ago the capability of the Indian Army to see at night with the help of Night Vision device was twenty percent and the ability is on the downward slope for lack of devices that the government of India did not buy.
The night vision capability of the Pakistan Army is EIGHTY percent; and that of the PLA of China it is one hundred percent. Where does India stand in night operations vis-a-vis its potential enemies? Let us leave it unsaid. General VKSingh said so in so many words to beat the drum and awaken the deaf and dumb Govt of India and someone leaked that missive to the Press and now the Army Chief is being dubbed as Anti-national obliquely by no less a person than Raksha Mantri himself. Left to meek Manmohan Singh the Indian Army will continue to suffer from night blindness even when the battle is joined and the enemy is at our doors. The modern version will keep saying, like Mohammad Shah Rangeela, a Moghul King, “Hanoz illi Door Ast”- Delhi is far away for invading Nadir Shah. The rest is his HISTORY.
Let not history repeat itself. Otherwise our children and children’s children will never forgive our generations for the myopic policies of the Govt of India led by the Congress party. Thanks to General VK Singh beating the drum to awaken our people to many lacunae in our defence preparedness, we may now be in a better position to thump the table of those who matter and ask that they rearm and reequip our armed forces adequately.
___________________________________________________________________________________Email : upvanom@yahoo.com Phone : 0120-2454622.

AFTER CONFESSION SHE FELT LIBERATED

AUM
AFTER CONFESSION SHE FELT LIBERATED
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
President John F Kennedy had a way with women. No woman ever said NO to him. Whenever and wherever he wanted to have sex with a fair and pretty female, he had it his way. No man, no woman and no adverse factor ever came in the way of his desire to take a pretty woman to bed. One knows what a bed is meant for.. What surprises a reader of such fairy tale books where the First Lady conveniently disappeared at that crucial moment when her own bedroom, nay, her own bed was being put to use, shall we say misuse. Believe it or not, this kind of escapade went on for eighteen months or so.
MEMOIRS OF A MISS
She was a Miss no more after she lay in Jackie Kennedy’s bed motionless and the most powerful man in the world, John kennedy did to her what he wished to. What I am writing here is certainly not a figment of imagination or a product of a love-lorn mind but a resume of what I read in the Memoires of the young intern who worked in the Press office of the White House. In this tell-all book, the victim of lust reveals all , hides nothing and does not play the role of a martyr. She asks for no sympathy and the Reader gives none. Both make a point in his or her own way. But that is not all. Let us go through her lines with her in tow and at times in the lead.
One may like to read a book entitled ONCE UPON A SECRET My Affair With President John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath by Mimi Alford 198 pages, Random House. USD 25.
Why did she do the mistake of telling everyone who cared to lend an ear a story that was exclusively hers and tend to ruin her love life hereafter In her own words she felt liberated and .lighter after she had bared all. Never mind if some loved ones were disappointed. It happens. One who tries to please all, ends up pleasing none.
It is the story of a teenage girl, fresh from her high school where she had lived a sheltered life. Miss Mimi Beardslay( now Alford) of Farmington, Connecticut, USA was rather pleasantly surprised when she was assigned to the White House, Press office as an Intern. Mimi was as fresh as a rose. She attracted attention. Many thought that since she hailed from a suburban town and was unaware of fun and frolic of the suave society, she could be persuaded to join a get-togethers held for the White House staff after working hours. Generally speaking, it was held in the afternoons and young men and women went home before night fall. Of course, the uninitiated ones knew nothing of the wine and dine or smoking the grass and at times were caught in the wrong company.
THE FOURTH DAY
Mimi came to work on the fourth day as usual. It was a rather light day and she looked forward to going home a little early for rest. That is when she was invited by some female colleagues for a swim session in the White House pool. She was elated and could not say NO to it. Suddenly President John Kennedy dropped in informally unannounced. A little chit-chat and President Kennedy invited Mimi for a private tour of the living section of the White House. Declining President’s own invitation to go on a private tour of his residential rooms was beyond her imagination. Within a few minutes the President and Mimi landed in the bedroom of Jacqueline Kennedy, ostensibly to admire its decor. With his long experience of engaging young women in conversation that brought the female physically closer to John Kennedy to manoeuvre to a comfortable position in bed for a kill.
Mimi could not keep standing any longer and sat on the edge of Mrs Kennedy’s bed. President Kennedy came closer and closer and unbuttoned her top. It all happened in a jiffy and she could not understand the game as she was a virgin so far. For a moment she was on cloud Nine as the most powerful man in the world desired her company and placed her where the First Lady should have been. As confessed in her Memoire, she felt outwitted and let her skirt be unzipped and fall. President Kennedy was all over. Before she could realise what was happening to her, Mimi had lost her virginity. There was no sense of shame, though. Somewhere in her heart she felt herself being lifted many notches. This unprecedented experience was just the beginning and she found no end in sight.
The affair between President Kennedy and Mimi went on for eighteen months or so. Kennedy would even call her on phone to chat. She mentioned one day to him that she was going to get married soon. President Kennedy said that he would call her anyway. Now Mimi could decipher some social resistance from her work-place colleague. President Kennedy had her shifted to a big college in a big city to give her anonymity. But that was not to minimise her social ostracism as quite often she would disappear for two to three nights. Mimi felt a little humiliated when once President Kennedy asked her to have sex with some other men too. Fortunately this plan did not materialise.
END OF AFFAIR
One day Mimi informed President Kennedy that she was going to get married within a month or so. He bought her some expensive gifts including a fine suit. He promised to keep calling notwithstanding the change in her marital status in the offing. In his characteristic style President Kennedy said that he would call her anyway. Mimi felt a wee bit nervous and did not know how to respond to this threat issued by the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces; albeit lovingly. Mimi prayed that Time should take care of this predicament. She did not see any light at the end of the tunnel.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated within a week while on a visit to Texas. Mimi felt sad and cried in private. After her marriage to another young man,she and her husband visited President Kennedy’s grave at the Arlington National Cemetery. She prayed for Peace to Kennedy’s soul. However, Mimi’s soul remained in a tormented state even after she had torn old photographs, dresses and disposed them off in trash bins.
One fine evening she made a clean breast of her affair with the late President of the United States. Her new husband and Mimi took a walk to a quiet pace by the Potomac river. She took a solemn vow to be faithful to her husband and never to cheat on him.
An emotional surge and the flowing tears tod Mimi that she would now live in physical, mental and spiritual Peace after making a confession of the Kennedy affair. God was kind to the couple and for them thereafter Peace Prevailed.
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com Mobile : 9811173590.

VANDE MATARAM PLAYED AT BEATING RETREAT

AUM
VANDE MATARAM PLAYED IN BEATING RETREAT
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
VANDE MATARAM, the national song of India that is Bharat, made a debut in the Beating Retreat ceremony 2012. It was a treat to hear the instrumental music of the national song at the Vijay Chowk, New Delhi for the first time on 29 January 2012. What a peasant delight that the Indianisation of the musical ceremony of an hour took a step forward and rendered the instrumental version of Vande Mataram on Shahnai and Tabla. The audience thought that it was recorded music but it was not so. Both the Shahnai and Tabla players sat in an invisible corner at the end of the North Block and mesmerised the music-loving crowd of spectators. The additional effect of music came to life through a judicious use of microphones producing the desired level of sound and echo.
It may be mentioned here for the benefit of connoisseurs of military music that all tunes included for the annual feature, Beating Retreat at Vijay Chowk, are played LIVE. No recorded music is used and none goes on the air.
A GLIMPSE OF HISTORY
Beating Retreat has an interesting history and the tradition has been passed on from generation to generation. The young soldiers, sailors or airmen chosen to be players of their respective bands consider themselves a privileged lot because they are given the latest instruments to practise. Thereafter they become privileged members of the goodwill delegation visiting foreign countries to perform in public parks there. The exchange of military bands strengthens the mutual relationship and minimises the possibility of hostilities.
In Bharat right in the battles fought in the Mahabharat, fighting took place from sunrise to sunset. The battle came to a sudden halt with declaration of a cease fire through sounding of trumpets, conch shells, drummers’ calls or any other pre-determined sound that was loud enough to be heard in every corner of the battlefield. The arrows came off the bows, swords were sheathed and all fighters returned not only to their respective camps but also visited the enemy camps to compare notes and listen to senior warriors about the strategy employed and likely changes to be made the following day. The bitterness of battlefield disappeared and bon-homie of the large families of Kauravas and the Pandavas returned to be in evidence. Of course, with the Sunrise next morning the battle began as usual. At sunset when the cows go home, Beating Retreat brings the battle to a close for the night once again.
Indeed that fascinating tradition of Beating Retreat faded into oblivion as the modern warfare goes on incessantly. Now Beating Retreat is only a ceremony of military music played by military bands. It is a grand spectacle held all over the world and is presided over by the Head of the State. In India Beating retreat was institutionalised in early 1950s and it is the President of India who is the Guest of Honour. The ceremony is so popular that unprecedented crowds turn up for the rehearsals and the ticketed shows. The distinguished Indians and foreigners go to see the grand spectacle on the 29 January with members of family in tow. The children and youth like the military music immensely
INNOVATIONS GALORE
The Beating Retreat in India in the early Fifties had western tunes on its list of musical score. However, over a period of time it was noticed that the young generation sat through rather glumly because they were not in touch with the English music or the British army music traditions. Since the idea was to attract the youth to the Armed Forces and also build a friendly relationship between the soldier and the civilian, it was decided to introduce Indian Ragas and other light music tunes that the military bands could play.
Raga Yaman took the lead and was immensely popular among the large audiences that came from all walks of life. It was military music based on Hindustani Sangeet that worked wonders. The Indian ears relished the new inductee tunes. The process kept on developing. However, it was the Indian tune set to the western musical instruments. The Innovators thought that there was room for more innovation here too. They got going and achieved the desired results.
Came Beating Retreat 2012 and brought in its wake more innovations. Of the 27 compositions played by the military bands of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force in an hour long ceremony, as many as 14 had been composed by the Indian musicians. The number of English and other European composers was gradually receding in the background and now it was well pronounced.
VANDE MATARAM played on the exclusively Indian musical instruments like the Tabla and the Shahnai walked away with the cake. The vast crowd assembled at the Vijay Chowk on a sunny Sunday afternoon was just thrilled The long applause in the form of hearty clapping by one and all including children bore testimony to immense popularity of Vande Mataram rendered on Indian musical instruments at Beating Retreat. The national song of India has an emotional appeal to the Indian audiences. Singing Vande Mataram, men and women had fought for independence and drove the foreign rulers from our soil and now hear it in the bastian of western music was a treat. Those who were there and heard the Vande Mataram will cherish the memory of those moments for many years to come.
Among the Hindi song-tunes newly introduced was VIJAYEE HIMALAYA.The highest peak of the world, Mount Everest nests in the Himalayas. Further, at the end of Beating Retreat year after year, when the combined bands are marching away on the Raisina hills, the tune played is: Sare Jahan Se Achcha, Hindostan Hamara. That song composed by poet Iqbal and set to band tune by A. Lobo also mentions the Himalayas as our sentry and the Defender. Thus the emotional appeal did strike a chord.
Indeed the evergreen tune played year after year is ABIDE WITH ME. The tune and its rendering are an instant success. This hymn made a debut as a Christian prayer but also became an instant hit in Beating retreat and military tattoos. The sound and the echo of tubular pipes coming from a little distance with military musicians hidden from view, a kind of divine touch is added to the musical rendering. When Monk had set it to tune acceptable as military music he did not think that the song’s popularity will cross many barriers of race, religion and region and stay on top of popularity for ages.
The audience conceded that being there at Vijay Chowk, New Delhi for Beating Retreat was indeed a divine experience.
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