Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Unusual move

End this apathy

The Sant

Today is Gobind Singh's 339th birth anniversary

By Inder Jeet S. 'Prince'

Indigenise or perish

By Lt Gen (Retd) Daulat Singh

Parmahansa Yogananda
The master-guide of journey inward

By Brij Mohan Sharma

Parmahansa Yogananda needs hardly any introduction to the lovers of God. He was one of the greatest spiritual giants produced by India, who dedicated all his life to creating love and religious understanding in all hearts. Born on January 5, 1893, he left this mortal world on March 7, 1952.........more

EDITORIAL

Unusual move

Any move that Pakistan makes with respect to 'Azad' Kashmir that constitutes a large part of the territory of the State under its occupation is to be taken seriously. It can't be without a purpose. Therefore, one will have to keep one's fingers crossed about the actual intention behind its latest exercise. The 'Azad' Jammu and Kashmir Council has mooted the idea of carrying out a research study on 'constitutional' arrangements for the region keeping in view the 'emerging geopolitical ground reality'. What gives rise to huge interest in the project is the rationale explained by the Secretariat of the Council that it was to be organised 'in the backdrop of the existing Interim Constitution of 1974 so as to make it more comprehensive and in line with the emerging geopolitical ground reality with a focus on the potential role of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council'. Even the Northern Areas have been included in its domain thereby widening its scope. For, it has been further stated that the research will focus on the 'genesis of the Kashmir dispute and production of an all-encompassing study bringing out circumstances, both political and administrative, necessitating the creation of AJ&K Council and study of the political status of Northern Areas as distinct from Kashmir and reasons for its peculiar politico-administrative set up'. There are many obvious questions that arise. Why is the project being taken up at this juncture? Does it show that Pakistan is veering around to the thinking that sooner or later it has to reconcile itself to the status quo so far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned and since 'Azad' Kashmir is neither a country nor a province despite being under its tightly closed iron fist its political and geographical status has to be clarified? 'Azad' Kashmir, it needs to be mentioned, has the trappings of a country having its own President, Prime Minister, legislature and even the judiciary. In reality, however, all of them are subservient to Pakistan which calls the shots through junior functionaries. Is Pakistan planning to end this dichotomy and formally turn 'Azad' Kashmir into a province? The study can enable it to prepare the political leaders of the region for less decorative designations. Or, is it that Pakistan is set to float another trial balloon in order to push forward its President Pervez Musharraf's controversial 'seven-region' formula which incidentally for the first time has Pakistan placing the Northern Areas on the negotiation table. Why is Gilgit which constitutes the nucleus of Northern Areas popping up again and again in Pakistan's strategy? Is it relevant that Pakistan has while excluding Gilgit and its adjacent areas from the control of 'Azad' Kashmir exposed it to China to the extent of having allowed the dragon to swallow a part of it?

It will be interesting to see how Pakistan goes ahead with the study. In its existing form the 'Azad' Jammu and Kashmir Council is nothing but a tool of the neighbouring country to pursue its Kashmir agenda. It is chaired by the Pakistan Prime Minister (presently Mr Shaukat Aziz is its head) and consists of among others five of his nominees 'from amongst federal ministers and members of Parliament' and President of 'Azad' Kashmir who invariably is the federal government's choice. The State Subjects have six representatives in this body in addition to the Prime Minister of 'Azad' Kashmir or his appointee. Given this composition the Council may appear to have been evenly balanced but in practical terms it is completely in Pakistan's hands. In any case the Council draws its existence from the Interim Constitution which specifically lays down: 'No person or political party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir shall be permitted to propagate against, or take part in activities prejudicial or detrimental to, the ideology of the state's accession to Pakistan'.

Is Pakistan contemplating to make the Council a totally all-federal or an all-'Azad' Kashmir show? What is the necessity otherwise for debating and analysing its 'potential role'? Is it inclined to give the inhabitants of Gilgit a little more freedom of expression and political activity? And, is it thinking of reversing its approach towards the youth from the Valley that it had lured to Muzaffarabad for arms training in the name of 'azadi' but finds that they have become a liability with their strident anti-Pakistan campaign throwing the core of the territory's Interim Constitution out of gear? On a wider range the study will have to shed light on Pakistan's stance vis-à-vis the Standstill Agreement and why it had accepted it only to tear it apart. In brief, it is only after the neighbouring country goes ahead with this research and completes it one will know whether it has become amenable to reason.

End this apathy

Week after week our 'action please' column in this newspaper is flooded with the grievances of the ordinary citizens of this city and its vicinity. Their complaints are mostly a commentary on the civic and administrative apathy. Some of them are hoping against hope that they will get compensation for their land acquired by one official agency or the other in the name of catering to the wider interests of society. In many remote and hilly regions the essential commodities are needed while in a few the roads require repair and the streets lighting. Off and on, the retired employees grumble about the delay in receiving pensions. Not infrequently those pour their hearts out who are not getting their salaries in time. During the rainy spells the telephone users demand attention for setting their instruments in order. In all these instances the question that the concerned observers face is the same: Why should the people be forced to seek justice for facilities for which they pay and which they deserve as a matter of right? Why should they lag behind in the race for a decent and healthy existence to which they are entitled? One is not referring to the wider and far graver topic of environment --- natural or otherwise --- about which a lot can be said including about increasing traffic snarls. This is simply a matter of providing certain basic amenities that ought to be available to each and every inhabitant. This is incumbent upon the departments particularly those directly dealing with the public that they are responsive in the discharge of their duties. In turn the political leadership should keep a close look over their working for, in the long run they have to put up with the consequences at the time of elections. What is amazing is that on several occasions the Central Government notably has established commissions to propose measures to hone the culture of governance. As a follow-up to their reports almost every ministry has put in place the public-redressal apparatus but apparently it is either inadequate or does not seem to be functioning efficiently in this State. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to apply necessary correctives. Sooner it is done the better it will be on the part of the people in power. So far as we are concerned we shall continue to provide space for all those who want to highlight a genuine cause without malice.

Today is Gobind Singh's 339th birth anniversary
The Sant

By Inder Jeet S. 'Prince'

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the 10th and the last Guru of Sikhs, is the most dynamic and charismatic genius of Indian history. He raised a protest against political tyranny and religious intolerance. Guru Ji aroused a strong spirit of patriotism and nationalism amongst his countrymen. He became the symbol of a resurgent India. Guru Ji rejuvenated our social order ridding it of all kinds of inequalities. He achieved the miraculous object of welding an emasculated, divided mass of our countrymen into a brave and self reliant people. As a prophet of a vigorous religious faith, as a natural leader of men through peace and war, as a seer with deep realization of his divine purpose, as a poet of great power and versatility and as one who sacrificed his all most willingly and cheerfully for the sake of his country & his countrymen, Guru Ji, the "sant - sipahi" (a saint-soldier) stands out as a unique phenomenon in the religious history of mankind.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji was born in the wee hours of 22nd December 1666 A.D. at Patna Sahib in Bihar. A large number of Guru Tegh Bahadur's (the 9th Guru of Sikhs and father of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji) followers and admirers from all over India made pilgrimage to Patna; among the very first to arrive was a Muslim saint of great repute and piety. On seeing the day - old infant, he declared that the child was a divine being.

Guru Ji lived in Patna until he was five, when he was taken to Anandpur Sahib, the city of bliss built by his father on the lower spurs of the Shivaliks. At the age of seven, Guru Ji began to take lessons in Sanskrit, Hindi and Persian. Sahib Chand Granthi caught him the former two and Qazi Pir Mohammad the last. Guru Ji acquired wide knowledge of Sanskrit and Persian lore, and learnt by heart the whole of the holy Granth Sahib Ji. Throughout his life, Guru Gobind singh Ji retained his love for learning. At Paounta Sahib, on the banks of Jamuna, Guru Ji kept 52 scholars in his employ who created a vast treasure of Hindi and Punjabi literature by making translations from Sanskrit.

Guru Ji himself wrote poetry, and his verse is in comparable for sublimity of style and virility of content. Remarkable is Guru Ji's description of the divine attributes in "Jaap Sahib". The autobiographical "Bachitra Natak" ("The Wondrous Drama"), "Akal Ustat" and "Chandi-Di-Var" are some of Guru Gobind Singh's other well known compositions. Guru Ji initiated the poetry writings of "Ram Avtaar", "Chobis-Avtaar" and completed himself "Devi Path" ("Chandi Charitra" 3rd with some additions and alterations on July 25, 1695.

Guru Ji was only 9 years old when his father, Sri guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was martyred on Nov. 11, 1675, by the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It so happened that Mughal rulers had let loose a reign of terror on non-Muslims & were forcing them to embrace Islam. Pressed by the juggernaut of Mughal persecution, some Kashmiri Pandits came to Anandpur Sahib to seek Guru Tegh Bahadur's help. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji asked the Pandits to go back and tell the Mughal Emperor that, if he converted him (Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji), they would all voluntarily accept Islam. The Guru himself left for Delhi where he was offered the usual choice between Islam or Death. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, choose the latter and was beheaded on Nov. 11, 1675 in Chandni Chowk of Delhi (Gurudwara Sheeshganj Sahib Ji stands at that place now.)

The responsibility of guiding the destiny of his people and fulfilling the mission of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, now became the mission of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. He started spending long hours in meditation and held morning and evening congregations to give expositions of the Sikh doctrine as laid down by Guru Nanak and interpreted by the successive Gurus. And finally, when all the adopted methods of co-existence of the nation were rejected by the rulers. Guru had to use the sword against the suppressors. Since the tyrannical Mughal Empire was very powerful, the task before Guru Gobind Singh Ji was very difficult. Finally, Guru Ji came to the result that nothing could be achieved unless full preparations to fight against the Mughals were made. He started giving military training to his followers. People started coming from great distances to do homage to him, bringing offerings, especially of arms & horses. Guru Gobind Singh Ji changed the psychology of the people. With a view to immortalizing the new spirit which now inspired the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji initiated the order of the Khalsa on Baisakhi day of March 30, 1699.

Guru Ji baptised the five Sikhs by offering them 'Amrit' — the nectar of immortality. The Guru named the five baptised Sikhs the five beloved ones ("Panj Pyarre"). They were given the appellation of 'Singh' or 'lion'. When the ceremony was over, Guru Ji himself knelt down, as a candidate before the initiated five begging them that he might as well be baptised in the same form and manner. The initiation of a Guru by his disciples was a thing unknown in the history of religions. The Guru declared:

"Khalsa Mero Roop Hai Khas,

Khalsa Mein Houn Karo Niwas,

Khalsa Meri Jaan Ko Jaan,

Khalsa Mero Pran Ko Pran."

The 'Panj Pyarre', assumed the role of Guru and baptised the master into the fold of Khalsa the Singhs. From Gobind Rai Ji, as he was up to this time called, he became Guru Gobind Singh ji. This phenomenon has been acclaimed well by poet Bhai Gurdas Ji in the following words:-

"Wah Pargateo Mard Agamara - Waryam Akela,

Wah, Wah Gobind Singh Apey Gur - Chela"

(There appeared an unsurpassed able man, a unique hero, wonderful, wonderful is Guru Gobind Singh, a venerable preceptor as well as a humble disciple.)

The aim of Guru Gobind Singh Ji in founding the Khalsa was to built up a nation of the purified ones who would be free from fear and selfishness. Guru Ji asked his followers to recognise the Granth Sahib Ji as their spiritual guide or Guru.

Guru Ji staged a religious war against the tyrant Mughal rulers. It must be remembered that Guru Gobind Singh's struggle was against religious intolerance and oppression. He did not fight for any territory or worldly power, or against any religion or sect. Among his admirers and followers were Hindus as well as Muslims. Many staunch followers of Islam had aligned themselves with him against the Imperial armies of the Mughals.

Guru Ji lost his two sons Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, who were bricked alive in a wall in Sirhind, thanks of a conspiracy hatched against them by a domestic servant of Guru Ji. All this happened during the battle of Anandpur fought in 1704.

Again, in the battle of Chamkaur, Guru Ji lost his other two sons Baba Ajit Singh and Baba Jhujhar singh aged seventeen and fourteen, both of whom died fighting bravely.

Guru Ji bade the Sikhs his last farewell with the words, "Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Fateh" and passed away in the early hours of Oct 7, 1708 at Nanded in Maharashtra.

Indigenise or perish

By Lt Gen (Retd) Daulat Singh

It is clear that the US would like to keep Pakistan fully armed. This will help them overcome their shortfall in conventional weapons. It must be remembered that though India has numerical superiority, the hardware at the disposal of the Pakistani armed forces is younger. They also have the advantage of possessing a swifter and more efficient decision making process. Unlike in India where the armed forces are under bureaucratic and political control, Pakistan’s military controls that nation even under democratic systems.

At the present juncture India’s military muscle is awesome. In the last few years India has acquired an advantage over all other Asian countries. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Indo-Pak disparity was in the region of 1:1.75 in favour of India. Now it has come down a little to 1:1.17. The US decision to fit out the Pakistanis with P3C Orions, anti-tank missiles may considerably reduce this margin in the short term. The Pakistanis may have under half the number of tanks at the disposal of the Indian army, but their tanks have night-fighting capabilities whereas India’s don’t. Their artillery has self-propelled guns which India has started negotiations with South Africa only recently to acquire. Add to that the prospect of Washington finally honouring its old commitment to deliver F-16s to the Pakistani armed forces and you have a problem on your hands.

China is the only consistent supplier and they have started collaborations on developing a main battle tank and jet trainer for Pakistan defence forces. The Israelis, Russians and South Africans are wary of dealing with them for fear of losing the Indian market. New Delhi has this stated policy of not buying from countries which equip Pakistan. So, for fear of losing the far more lucrative Indian market nobody ventures to do business with Pakistan.

Since 2002 India has purchased more than $6 billion worth of weaponry, tanks, planes, ships and aircraft carriers. Sixty six Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers for nearly $2 billion; the Gorshkov will be joining the fleet by 2008-09 and this will come with 20 Mig-29Ks which include 16 fighters and four trainers and 15-20 anti-submarine warfare helicopters. An indigenously built air defence ship is also in the pipeline and recently an agreement was signed with the Italian firm, Fincantieri, to integrate the design and propulsion systems. Agreements have been finalised with Israel for the supply of a host of other equipment.

When Gorshkov joins the fleet, the existing aircraft carrier, Viraat, will be retired and before long the second one under construction at Goa will be ready. With two aircraft carriers, the Indian Navy will be able to operate at great lengths away from home base. Pakistan doesn’t have this capability and China is just about beginning to build its own carrier. In addition, the Navy has just inducted three Russian-built Stealth frigates (Talwar class) and is negotiating an add-on of three more with the Russians which will be fitted out with a combination of Russian and Israeli missiles. Six Scorpene submarines of French make are also on their way.

The army is undergoing a generational leap forward. The entire artillery profile is undergoing a revamp. Three kinds of 155mm howitzers are being tested to acquire 52-km capability. About 300 of these big guns will be bought from the chosen supplier. Israel, South Africa and Bofors of Sweden are in the running. A whole range of small arms sniper and assault rifles, sub-machine guns and carbines are in the testing process. Between 30 and 50 C130J Hercules transport aircraft are also on the anvil. This marks a departure from the Indian army’s traditional dependence on Russian hardware. The Americans are already here. Recently India contracted to buy 12 AN/PQ-37(V)3 fire-finder artillery locating radars for $142.4 million.

One can go on endlessly listing the items on India’s list of acquisitions. But the crucial question is; where India is still left unaddressed. Against which country will this awesome stockpile be used? India refuses to admit to having a Pakistani-centric attitude and would never even mention the prospect of parity with China. Conventional superiority means little in a nuclear neighbourhood. In fact, it vanished after the Pokhran and Chagai Hills test of 1998. The experience of Operation Parakram clearly showed that Pakistan can play the nuclear card with far greater finesse than India’s ethical self-discipline would permit. The biggest threat that India faces is an internal one, posed by insurgency which is backed by the Pakistani strategy of promoting covert war. Here it is important to reflect to what extent the recent acquisitions are going to help. Aircraft carriers would be useless in combating ISI-backed fundamentalists in J&K. Sukhoi fighters wont’ prove to be of much use in Naxalite infested Andhra Pradesh.

The Government’s so-called modernisation is widely seen as only partially successful. It has also created one more layer of bureaucracy. Additionally, the CBI breathes down the neck of persons in responsible positions. It was intriguing to see that the Defence Procurement Board was headless for the first six months of the present government’s term.

The obsession with adding more and more sophisticated weapons and systems to the arsenal must end, say insiders. India has seriously undermined its own defence production capacities in the process. In the case of the Arjun main battle tank, India pegged all its hopes on the Germans to supply the engine. Seeing New Delhi in a trap, the Germans simply doubled the price. If this kind of blind acquisition continues, the capability to project future battle scenarios will be hit because an import dependent army or Air Force always works with a limited inventory of ammunition and spares. INAV

Parmahansa Yogananda
The master-guide of journey inward

By Brij Mohan Sharma

During his brief sojourn on earth, Parmahansa Yogananda not only attained the zenith of spiritual glory, but also enriched his countrymen as well as our brethren in the West with the priceless pearls of wisdom so assiduously culled from the depths of India's vast scriptural oceans such as Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagvadgita and other illuminating treatises of which we, the Indians, are the proud and privileged inheritors.

Apart from Hindu scriptures, he was quite at home with the teachings and practices of other religions. The Holy Bible especially was as close his heart as Bhagvadgita. He believed in the essential unity in all religions and did not find any difference in the truths inculcated by various faiths, all of which preach and teach one and the same Goal. He was of the firm belief that by the free use of reason and experience, we can appropriate this universal truth to bring about the desired reorientation of thought so urgently needed to overcome the problems and misunderstandings of mankind. In his view, our scriptures should be not only guardians of the past but heralds of the future also.

We live in an age when we have no time for anything beyond the passing hour. Everybody seems to be in a desperate hurry; whole of the environment is polluted and turbulent with deafening noise; man is haunted by unending desires resulting in extreme restlessness and mad race for money and power. Words like filial affection, love, sincerity and honesty seem to have vanished from our dictionaries. Corruption and scandals are galore and man has become victim of selfishness, hatred and jealousy.

To our bad luck, this wind of undesirable change has made inroads into some of our religious institutions also. They are functioning like big business houss rather than temples of spiritual learning. The greed of gold and status has firmly taken hold of these institutions. Animosity, hatred and rivalry have become order of the day. Some of them have even attained the notoriety of committing heinous crimes. Our so-called godmen and godwomen are simply money-seeking conjurers and venerable know-nothings. Their style of living is reminiscent of the royal grandeur. They are so enamored of their cosy urban empires christened as 'ashramas' that they abhor to even think of rural India. Tons of money accumulated by them could transform the face of India's countryside.

This state of affairs, though unfortunate, should not be the cause for us to lament. We have faced such dark phases in the past and are confident to deal with them appropriatly in the future.

Man is essentially the child of God and the spark of divinity that kindles in his heart can, under no circumstances, be extinguished by these transitory spells of gusty winds. Spiritual history of the world is testimony to the fact that in spite of all its drawbacks, the human mind has always strived for perfection and in its zest to do so, God generally comes to his help by sending great souls for the well-being and spiritual enlightenment of his creatures.

Parmahansa Yogananda was one of such messengers of God. He taught human beings the meaning of their existence vis a vis the significance of religion in their daily lives.

It may not be paradoxical to assume that even today, in spite of all the scientific and technological advancements, man still does not know what life is really all about and what religion and God means to him? Obviously, it is all due to 'avidya' i.e. spiritual blindness and misinterpretation of religion. And, this is probably the reason that our world is in such a mess.

According to Parmahansa Yogananda, our ordinary conception of God that He is Superhuman, Infinite, Omnipresent, Omniscient, and the like has no significance for man unless it influences his daily conduct and inspires him to seek his Creator. Such concepts may satisfy the intellect but do not soothe the soul. Just by parroting these epithets, one can neither please God, nor find the way to Him. ''What we conceive of God should be of daily, nay, hourly guidance to us. The very conception of God should stir us to seek Him in the midst of our daily lives'', says Parmahansa Yogananda.

Man, form his very birth, directs all his energies and activities towards the avoidance of pain and want, and the attainment of permanent Bliss. While doing so, he, however, mistakes pleasure and happiness for Bliss, least realizing that these feelings are entirely ephemeral and mainly concerned with his five senses. In reality, Bliss is the permanent avoidance of pain and want. And this end, being universal and most necessary for man is, of course, religion to him. There can hardly be two opinions about the fact that realization of Bliss is the other name of God-realization, and the actions that we adopt for this realization are called religious. ''Thus, in one sense every man in the world is religious, inasmuch as everyone is trying to get rid of want and pain and to gain Bliss... But in a strict sense only a few.... are religious, for only a few in the world....know the most effective means for removing, permanently, all pain or want- physical, mental or spiritual- and gaining true Bliss'', says Parmahansa Yogananda. He further asserts ''Whenever we forget our true end- the attainment of Bliss or the state, condition or mode of living eventually leading to it- and direct our sole attention to the things which are mistakenly thought to be the means or conditions of bliss, and turn them into ends, our wants, desires, excitations go on increasing and we are started on the road to misery or pain.''

From all this it is crystal clear that desire is the root of all misery, which arises out of the sense of identification of the ''self'' with mind and body. When there is dispassion and severing of identification. Bliss-consciousness arises in us. This essentially means what we hanker for is God since God-consciousness is Bliss-consciousness. And, this reunion with God fulfils the fundamental purpose of our existence.

Parmahansa Yogananda was also a staunch protagonist of universalisation and unity of religion. He generally argued that ''if by religion we understand only practices, particular tenets, dogmas, customs and conventions, then there may be ground for the existence of so many religions; but if religion means, primarily, God-consciousness, or the realization of God both within and without; secondarily, a body of beliefs, tenets, and dogmas, then, strictly speaking, there is but one religion in the world, for there is but one God''. Although he admitted that it was not possible to universalize particular customs and conventions, he was of the firm belief that the element common to all religions could easily be universalized. According to him ''it is only the limited human point of view that overlooks the underlying universal element in the so-called different religions of the world, and this overlooking has been the cause of many evils.''

Now, comes the question, where and how to find God ? The answer is so long as we are looking for Him outside of ourselves through our senses, we cannot perceive God. We have to go inside and find Him through the intuition of the soul. To achieve this interiorisation, Parmahansa Yoga- nanda and almost all our ancient saints and seers have found the science of Yoga as the most easiest and efficacious means for this purpose. If we dive a little deep, we will find that Yoga, in reality, is the esoteric essence of all the great religions. In the inner stillness, there comes the awareness of God within oneself, and then the uniting of one's consciousness with Him.

Parmahansa Yogananda has given us a definite scientific technique of Kriya Yoga fo attaining direct, personal experience of God. It is the same science which Lord Krishna personally taught to Arjuna millenniums ago, and was revived in this age by the lineage of gurus behind Parmahansa Yogananda. It teaches us how to withdraw energy from our senses and direct it inward to awaken the higher spiritual faculties of divine perception. This method of communion with God is also called pranayama in spiritual parlance. It means mastery (yama) over the energy (prana), and the state of union achieved by its sincere practice is called smadhi.

According to him, the Bliss, which is our ultimate end ''is felt in an intense degree in the act of practicing Kriya Yoga..... The influence of senses vanishes, intruding thoughts disappear, Bliss-God is realized, the consciousness of 'all in One and One in all' dawns upon us.''

''Thus, uniting his self constantly with God, and being freed from all material contamination, the yogi enjoys the eternal Bliss of oneness with the Supreme'', says Bhagvadgita (VI-28).

As the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So, why not, straightway, set out on the road to this Journey Inward and be blessed with the experience of Bliss called God-consciousness. The road map drawn by the Master-Guide will certainly help you to attain your cherished Goal.

(The author has retired as Additional Secretary to J&K State Government)