04/29/10
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13th Death anniversary of Prof B Krishnappa on 30-04-2010
Kambalapalli Carnage
Leaders like Prof. B. Krishnappa, O. Sreedharan, M.D. Gangaiah, N. Giriyappa
Devanur Mahadeva, Siddalingaiah, L. Hanumanthaiah, O. Rajanna, N. Shivanna, …
http://www.ambedkar.org/books/kc.htm
Kambalapalli Carnage
Written By
Oruvingal Sreedharan
And
R. Muniyappa
Published by
Babasaheb Dr.B.R. Ambedkar Adhyayana Kendra, Bangalore-9
Dedicated
to
late Sriramappa and other Six Scheduled Castes who were burnt alive at Kambalapalli
with
sincere acknowledgement s to
O. Rajanna, N. Shivanna, Krishna Chinthamani, Dr.L. Hanumanthaiah, Marasandra Muniyappa.
The founder of the DSS, B Krishnappa was Karnataka State Bahujan Samaj Party. He observed that the BSP influence helped him work towards Social Transformation and for Economical Emancipation of the Society.
Devotion is Delight!
Faith or Devotion has the power to arouse a tremendous amount of positive zeal and energy. Long before we have directly experienced the ultimate truth, Faith keeps our eyes fixed firmly on the goal. When we stumble and fall, Faith picks us up; when doubt causes us to falter, it urges us on; and when we get side-tracked, it brings us back to the path. Without Faith in Buddha and efficacy of his Dharma and inspiration from his Sangha we would never bother to try to put the teachings into practice. As Nagarjuna says:-
One associates with the Dhrama out of Faith
But one knows truly out of understanding;
understanding is the chief of the two,
But Faith precedes.
Genuine Devotion is a rare Delight!
Homage to that Perfectl y Self-Enlightened One!
Thus, indeed, is that the Blessed One: He is the worth y One, full y enlightened,
endowed with clear vision and virtuous conduct, sublime, the knower of worlds,
the incomparable leader of men to be tamed, the teacher of gods and men,
awakened and blessed. Forever do I reverence for the Buddhas of the past,
those of the times to come, those Buddhas of the present time…
No other refuge do I seek: The Buddha is m y onl y true refuge. B y this Truth
ma y peaceful victor y be mine! I revere with m y head the dust on his hol y feet.
If I have wronged the Buddha, ma y the Buddha bear with me.
Until life’s end, to the Buddha I go for saving refuge.
Who is the foremost speaker among mankind, The Sak y an Sage, O Hol y One,
whose task is done, gone be y ond, possessed of supreme power and energ y !
To y ou, the wellcome wellgone One, I go for refuge!
Homage to that perfectl y formulated Dhamma!
The Dhamma of the Blessed One is perfectl y explained, to be seen here and
now, inviting one to come and see, leading onward to Ni bb āna; to be known
b y an y wise, each for himself. Homage to that Dhamma leading out of this
suffering, out of samsara! The Dhamma of the ages past, the Dhamma of
the times to come, the Dhamma of the present time, forever do I reverence.
No other refuge do I seek, the Dhamma is m y true refuge. B y this Truth:
Ma y peaceful victor y be mine! I revere with m y head this triple Dhamma of
the three supreme qualities: Moralit y , Concentration and Understanding…
If I have wronged the Dhamma: Ma y the Dhamma bear with me.
Until life’s end to the Dhamma I go for refuge.
Freed from lust, cleared of craving, sorrow-free: An absolute Law, gracious,
gratif y ing and satisf y ing, sweet, potent, profound, an anal y tic science…
To this ver y Dhamma I go for refuge!
Homage to that Great Sangha Communit y of the Eight Noble persons.
The Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples has entered on the good wa y ;
the straight wa y ; the true wa y ; on the direct wa y , that is to sa y : the 4 pairs
of men, the 8 types of persons. This Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples is
fit for gifts, fit for hospitalit y , fit for offerings, and fit for reverential
salutation with joined palms, as an incomparable field of merit in the world.
Forever do I reverence: The Sanghas of the past ages, those of the times
to come, and the Sanghas of the present time. No other refuge do I seek.
The Sangha is m y true refuge. B y this ver y Truth: Ma y peaceful victor y be
mine! I revere with m y head this peerless Sangha. If I have wronged this
Sangha: Ma y the Sangha bear with me. Until life’s end, to the Sangha I go
for refuge. Whatever is given to the four pure pairs of persons and these
eight kind of people, who have realized the Truth, this bears great fruit…!
To this ver y Sangha I go for refuge!
More on Faith (Saddhā) and Devotion (Bhakti):
Faith Summary, Fruitful Faith, Lay Faith, Unwavering Faith, Fine Faith,
The Buddha on Faith, Rich Faith, Analysis of Faith, Dual Faith, Raining_Faith,
Highest Faith, Leaping Faith, Outstanding Faith, Power of Faith
How to become a real Buddhist formall y ? Take refuge here!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Sangha_Entry.htm
Source: BPS Wheel no 54 (Edited Excerpt):
The Mirror of the Dhamma. A Manual of Buddhist Devotional Texts.
B y Nārada Thera and Bhikkhu Kassapa. Revised B y Bhikkhu Khantipālo:
http://www.bps.lk/wh054-u.html
Devotion is Delight!
Unique gift to Buddhist literature
Ven Totagamuwe Sri Rahula Sangaraja Thera:
S. B. Karalliyadde
Maveni Bilinda -
Wara wara langata kenda
Duk sepa kumanda -
Asana nirido wena koinda
There cannot be any Sinhalese who has not heard the above sonnet so popular among the people of Lanka. It will be immortal as long as the nation exists. It was recited impromptu by a child of seven years when he was introduced to Parakramabahu VI of Kotte, by his mother Seelawathie alias Swarnawathie who was residing in Randombe near Ambalangoda in a palace in the land then known as Indaneyaya. The ola leafs describe her as a Saligama Brahamin lady (Sri Lankadeepa Warnana - Dr. O.M. Obeysekera).
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Remains of Ven Totagamuwe Sri Rahula Sangaraja Thera
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The child was Jayabahu alias Weerasundara who later on became a legend in the history as the Sangaraja and Sadbhasa Parameswara Totagamuwe Sri Rahula the well known poet laureate, astrologer, physician, scholar and a versatile and erudite monk Lanka has ever produced. The felicitation volume issued by Rev. Gammeddegoda Punnyasara the present incumbent of Totagamuwa Maha Vihara on the occasion of issuing a first day cover on 23-02-1977 states that he was the son of Wickramabahu born to a princess from Keerawella, sister of the queen of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte and who was later known as Jayabahu alias Weerasundara.
Much has been written by various scholars about his literary work, abilities to employ devils and other super-human powers and his intellectual prowess. My attempt here is to place some historical facts about this genius from Dumbara on his six hundred and second (602nd) birth day which falls on 8th May. If there was no rivalry and distrust among the Kings of Kotte Venerable Sri Rahula would have produced at least two more books to enrich our literature.
The rivalry surfaced when he helped Jayabahu the son of Ulakudaya Devi of Selalihini Sandesaya fame to become the King of Kotte after the demise of his grandfather Parakramabahu VI. This rivalry and division was an open secret in the kingdom at that time.
Though Buvanekabahu attempted to harm Sri Rahula on several occasions he could not succeed in his attempts as the Maha Thera was popular with the people and people gave him the necessary protection or in today’s parlance his security was guaranteed by his followers. When he becomes the target of Kotte Kings he moved to the village Ambana presently in the Elpitiya electorate and dwelt in Kindurugala cave where he spent the rest of his life. The rest of his services in medicine, astrology and other literary works continued from there.
Another reason for the Kotte Kings rivalry was the fact that the Thera was born with strong planetary positions in his horoscope. The horoscope was second only to that of a Buddha’s and had he remained a layman he would end up as a Chakravarthy King.
When I showed the Thera’s horoscope to Dr. Arlis the famous mathematician/ astrologer in Kandy he said that the planetary position was second only to that of a Buddha. He said that Gautama was born on Tuesday the 8th on the Vesak full moon day and Rahula Thera was born on 8th Sunday in the month of Vesak on a Atawaka poya day.
Born on 1408 May 8th Sunday 6.38 a.m. His corps remained in Kindurugala cave venerated by the people in the area until it was removed to Goa by a Portuguese named Francis Xavir. This corpse treated with medicine will last for thousand years without decay according “Praneeth Vruhat Jataka” book written by Maharishi Varahamihira. There was tension among the people of the area the day the corpse was removed. The people in the area protested against the removal but the King of Kotte at the time Dharmapala allowed Xavir to remove the body to Goa. The folklore in the area bears testimony to this incident.
His corpse should be brought to Lanka as done in the case of the skull of Keppetipola.
The Polonnaruwa kingdom inaugurated by Maha Vijayabahu (1055-1110) which lasted over a century fell due to Maga’s (1215-1236) invasion. The damage to the Sinhalese was worst than the damage caused by present day Prabhakaran. The Kings and Queens of Polonnaruwa fled for safety to places like Rakkitipe in Diyatilaka Korale and Bopitiya in Hewaheta.
This intruder Maga was challenged face to face and chased away by Bodhiraja of Galahitiyawa in Dumbara who later on inaugurated the Dambadeniya Kingdom as Vijayabahu III. His son who was also known as Kalikala Sahitiya Sarvagna Pandit Parakramabahu II (1236-1270) ruled for about twenty five years.
It was during his reign that a Malay intruder named Chandrabanu invaded this country. Parakramabahu entrusted the responsibility of driving away the intruders to his nephew Veerabahu. Veerabahu drove away the Malays to Javakkotte in the North.
The present day name of this place is Chavakachcheri. Veerabahu who was a Duke at the time went to Dondra to make offerings to Upulvan God in Dondra for blessings received to chase the intruders.
04/15/10
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Posted by:
site admin @ 6:03 am
REVIVAL OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA
The month of October in India is the month of Revival of Buddhism. Throughout this month and particularly on 14th of October thousands of majority native Indians called SC/STs keep taking refugee in the Triple Gem. This process has been going on since 1956 for last 50 years and still continues.
Today most of the educated SC/STs praise Dr.B.R. Ambedkar- The symbol of
SC/ST movement for his embracing of Buddhism and on the other hand they
themselves feel that it is time to rid themselves of internal caste divisions and organize themselves strongly under one umbrella. For which one of the most
effective ways they find is to convert with one voice and one choice to Buddhism.
First of all one may ask why Dr.B.R. Ambedkar the architect of Indian constitution himself left Hinduism? To which Ambedkar himself says:
“I thought for long that we could rid the Hindu society of its evils and get
the depressed classes incorporated into it on terms of equality. That motive
inspired the Mahad Chaudar Tank satyagraha and the Nasik temple entry
satyagraha. With that object in mind we burned the Manu smriti and performed
mass thread ceremonies. Experience has taught me better. I stand today
absolutely convinced that for the depressed classes there can be no equality
among the Hindus because on inequality rest the foundations of Hinduism. We
no longer want to be part of the Hindu society.” (Source material on Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar and the movement of untouchables vol-1 Bombay, Govt. of maharastra, 1982, page 250)
The modern SC/STs have found that most of the Hindu leaders are hypocrites who profess to fight casteism while in reality practice its rules. Similarly the Bhraminical bureaucrats who claim to have democratic ideas wishing to raise the backward castes but who really crave nothing better than an oligarchy for themselves. The unity of SC/STs especially political consolidation proves to be very difficult to achieve because some of the lower castes are often not against caste system but in the system and try to rise within it which, earlier Ambedkar himself had sincerely tried and failed and finally along with five hundred thousand of his followers he embraced Buddhism on 14th october, 1956 at Nagpur.
Since the teachings of Buddha are based on the central fact of life that is
suffering, the cause for suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path
leading to cessation of suffering. Here for Indian SC/STs there is
suffering, the cause for their suffering is casteism, the cessation of
suffering is abandoning this castiest religion, the path leading to
cessation of suffering is taking refugee in Buddhism. So now the people of India
with the common sense think why not they take refugee in this Indian
religion when the people all over the world are taking. Buddhism is the only
Indian religion which as become the world religion and is considered to be
the only religion with rational outlook and scientific temper inviting
people to come and see and not to come and believe. The main object of
Buddhism is to emancipate the suffering humanity. So people who have become
refuge less and hope less in the casteist system in India take refugee in cast
less system which is of course Buddhism as recommended by the Dr.B.R. Ambedkar- The greatest Buddhist leader of India. He himself has said that Buddhism is an all-comprehensive Religion and is the best of all.
Once Ambedkar said: “Question is being asked why I am inclined towards Buddhism. The direct answer to this question is that I regard the Buddha’s Dhamma to be the best. No religion can be compared to it. If a modern man who knows science must have a religion, the only religion he can have is the Religion of the Buddha. This conviction has grown in me after thirty-five years of close study of all religions. The Buddha’s Religion is the only religion which a society awakened by science could accept, and without which it would perish.
For the modern world Buddhism is the only religion which it must have to
save itself”.
Throughout his life he was questioned on related issues to which he answered in very effective manner. Some of the questions and his answers are compiled here as follows:
SOME QUESTIONS & DR. AMBEDKAR’S ANSWERS
(Q-stands for question and A-stands for Ambedkar’s answer)
Q: Why had our country lost her freedom time and again? Why have we been
subjected to foreign domination so often?
A: It is because this country as a whole never stood against the enemy. It was always a small section of the society and whoever overpowered it became the victor. This is mainly due to the pernicious caste system of the Hindus.
Second world war was fought in Europe during the period from 1939-45. The
soldiers who were killed in the battles were immediately replaced by the
fresh recruits. Nobody ever paused to say that the credit for winning the
war should go to a particular community or section of the society. Whereas
in our country in the past if all the Kshatriyas were done away with the
battle then there could be no mobilization or recruitment according to the
“chaturvarna” since according to this abominable law, Kshatriyas and
Kshatriyas alone were entitled to fight. This is what has been enslaved many
times. Had the right to bear arms not been denied to us this country would
never have lost her freedom nor could any invader have succeeded in
conquering her.
This religion and this social order have ruined us. But this is not going to
stop here. This would ruin the Hindus themselves and ultimately India.
Q; Should you continue to be Hindu?
A: Why should remain bound to a religion which does not even treat you
as a human being? Why do you remain in a religion which prohibits you from
entering its temples? Why do you remain in a religion which prohibits you
from entering temples? Why do you remain under that religion which prohibits
you from drawing water from public wells? Why do you remain in that religion
which bars you from decent occupations and jobs? Why do you remain in the
religion which insults you at every step? The religion which teaches man to
behave with man in an inhuman manner is not religion but infamy. The
religion which does not recognize a human being as a human being is a curse.
The religion in which the touch of animals is permitted but the touch of a
human being pollutes is not a religion but the mockery of a religion. The
religion which precludes some classes from education forbids them to
accumulate wealth and to bear arms, is not a religion but tyranny. The
religion which compels the ignorant to remain ignorant and the poor to
remain poor does not deserve to be called a religion.
Q: Is conversion necessary?
A: I should like to impress this thing on your minds very clearly that
religion is for man and not man for religion. I would like to ask you all
what is the sense in living in a society which is devoid of humanity, which
does not respect you, protect you, humiliates you, and never misses and
opportunity to hurt you. Any person with an iota of self respect and decency
will not like to remain in this satanic religion. Only those who live to be
slaves can remain in this religion.
In view of the facts that the Hindu religion which forced our forefathers
to lead a life of degradation and heaped all sorts of indignities on them,
kept them poor and ignorant, why should you remain within the fold of such a
diabolical creed? If, like your forefathers, you too, continue to accept a
degraded and lowly position, and humiliation, you will continue to he hated.
Nobody will respect you and nobody will help you. It is for these reasons
that the question of conversion has become important for us. To change this
degraded and disgraceful existence into golden life, conversion is
absolutely necessary.
Q: Can education destroy caste?
A: The answer is ‘yes’ as well as ‘no’ If education is given as it is today
education can have no effect on caste. It will remain as it will be. The
glaring example of it is the Brahmin caste. Cent percent of it is educated;
majority of it is highly educated. Yet not one Brahmin has shown himself to
be against caste. In fact an educated person belonging to the higher caste
is more interested, after his education, to retain the caste system than was when he was not educated. For education gives him an additional interest in the retention of the caste system, namely by opening additional opportunity of getting a bigger job. From this point of view, education is not helpful as means to dissolve caste. So far is the negative side of education.
But education may be solvent if it is applied to the lower strata of the
Indian society. It would raise their spirit of rebellion. In their present
state of ignorance, they are the support of the caste system. Once their
eyes are opened they will be ready to fight the caste system.
The fault of the present policy is that though education being given on a
larger scale it is not given to the right strata of Indian society. If you
give education to those strata of Indian society which has a vested interest
in maintaining the caste system for the advantages it gives them, the caste
system will be strengthened. On the other hand, if you give education to
the lower strata of Indian society which is interested in blowing up the
caste system, the caste system will be blown up. All the moment the
indiscriminate help given to education by the Indian Government and American
Foundations is going to strengthen the caste system. To make rich richer
and poor poorer is not the way to abolish poverty. The same is true of
using education as a means to end the caste system. To give education to
those who want to keep up the caste system is not to improve the prospects
of democracy in India, but to put democracy in India in greater jeopardy.
–TALK FOR VOICE OF AMERICA ON PROSPECTS OF DEMOCRACY IN INDIA - 20th May 1956 by DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR
Q: In India some people remark that Buddhism has become the religion of
untouchables and thereby makes others reluctant to come to this religion.
A: Brahmins in his time did not spare even Lord Buddha. In kasibhradwaja
sutta they addressed him as Vasala- an outcaste. In spite of all the
vilifications and the abuses showered on this religion, Buddhism has spread
throughout the world. It is the only Indian religion to become world
religion.
According to history even when Christianity made its way into Europe the
situation in and around Rome was appalling. People did not get enough food
to fill their bellies. The people who extended a sympathetic response to the
call of Christianity when it entered into Europe were not those who were
convinced of its spirituality but those miserable poor and oppressed people
for whom porridge, distributed free of cost, served as a meal. The poor and
the oppressed became converts to Christianity.
Thus Mr. Gibbon, the renowned historian and author of the rise and fall of
the Roman Empire scornfully branded Christianity as a religion of the poor
and the beggars. Mr. Gibbon is not alive today. He would have been shocked
to see the whole of Europe engulfed by Christianity.
Q: Why should one convert to Buddhism alone and not to any other religion?
A: For such high principles are not to be found in any other religion. There
is a world of difference between this religion and other religions of the
world. Main principles of Buddhism form no part of theistic religions.
According to other religions God created the world, this earth and
thereafter he created heaven, air, moon and other planets. That means he has
created also the stone in the bladder. God has done all that was required to
be done and now there remains nothing for us to do. All that we are required
to do is, just to sing the praises of Almighty God. This does not appeal to
rational man today.
According to Christianity, there will be a day of judgment and everything
will depend on the judgment that day. One can be sent to heaven or hell on
that day.
Buddhism denies the existence of God and Soul. The real basis of Buddhism is
rational way to eradicate suffering. ‘There is’ Buddha said, “Suffering in
the world-suffering wide spread”. 90 percent of the people are afflicted
with suffering or misery of some kind or the other. The main object of
Buddhism is to emancipate the suffering humanity.
The first point, which marks off Buddha from the rest, is his
self-abnegation. JESUS insists that he is the Son of God. MOHAMMED went a
step further. He claimed that he was the messenger of God on earth and
insisted that he was the last messenger. KRISHNA went a step beyond both
Jesus and Mohammed. He claimed that he was “Parameshwar” - the God of Gods. BUDDHA never arrogated to himself any such status. He was born a son of man and was content to remain a common man and preached his gospel as a common man. Jesus, Mohammed and Krishna claimed for themselves a role of
MOKSHADATA. Buddha was satisfied with playing the role of MARGADATA.
Brothers and Sisters, I have said whatever there was to be said. This is the
best religion in the world and there can be absolutely no doubt about it.
With the education, intelligence, knowledge and experience that I have, it
is not difficult for me to oppose or fight against any evil. But there is a
mountain-colossal mountain of caste hierarchy; Brahmins, Kshatriyas,
Vaishyas sitting on our heads. The question before us is, how to topple it
down and blast it. It is for this reason that I wanted to acquaint you fully
with the religion of Buddha. I owe it as a duty, too. - Dr.B.R,Ambedkar
So we see that finally Dr.B.R.Ambedkar on 14th October 1956 along with 5 lakh people went to the refuge of Buddha ,Dhamma and Sangha. Committed as he was to rationality and empiricism, he was attracted by Buddhism’s rational out look tuned with morality further strengthened by scientific temper rather than blind belief. It’s teaching of equality and solidarity, its emphasis on transforming both self and world through self effort with self confidence. Thus with this understanding he was able to accomplish “diksha (conversion on 14th oct. 1956)and shiksha,(instruction n through his book –The Buddha and His Dhamma.)
Thus Dr. B.R. Ambedkar went to these three refugee of Buddha, Dhamma
and Sangha because
In BUDDHA he found a True Teacher of Spirituality,
In DHAMMA the true teachings of equality
In SANGHA the true friends of humanity.
Buddhism does not actively look for converts, but it is thoroughly welcoming
to those who do want to convert. The segmented morality endemic to Hinduism
is Oppressive to those who suffer under it, while enabling beneficiaries to
sleep well and feel morally upright in their houses while pain, hunger and powerlessness cries loudly right outside their homes. The data speaks this truth. Long verbal arguments are a waste of time in this denial.
Dr.Ambedkar’ s wish before death was to make the whole of India
a Buddhist country. Thus SC/STs feel that the only and best way to express gratitude to this great leader is to embrace Buddhism and full fill his death wish on this dhamma deksha day of 14th october every year in India. Thereby bringing equality, liberty, and fraternity in India and welfare to the whole of humanity.
Dr. Ambedkar once said “Our ancestors had no means to fight this slavery and
therefore they could not revolt. They were compelled to live in Hindu
religion. Nobody can force this type of slavery upon the present generation.
We have all sorts of freedom. If the present generation does not avail of
such freedom and free itself from the clutches of Hinduism they are sure to
be dubbed as cowardly, mean and slavish people devoid of self-respect” .
Thus what the Indian SC/STs have to say is as follows:
This day of fourteen October,
Is the day for Indian Buddhists to remember.
Taking Buddha as spiritual Teacher,
Noble Dhamma as spiritual Mother;
Noble Sangha as spiritual Elder;
The natives went again to Triple refuge forever.
All this was due to efforts of Babasaheb Ambedker,
Who unfortunately passed away on sixth December.
This movement created scientific temper,
And rescued people from castist viper.
Present generation should work like sniper,
Eliminating from within the immoral character;
Giving reins to moral leader.
Never should you ever surrender,
Nor just be watching like a bystander;
But strive hard and be a defender.
Lead a life like that of a brave commander,
Express your gratitude on this day to Bodhisattva Ambedker.
MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY & LIBERATED.
Ven.Bhikkhu Vinayarakkhita
Press Information Bureau
(C.M. Information Campus)
Information and Public Relations Department, U.P.
C.M. greets people on Ambedkar Jayanti
Lucknow : April 13, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ms. Mayawati has
extended her heartiest felicitations and good wishes to the
people of the State on the 119
th birth anniversary of the
architect of the Indian Constitution, Bharat Ratna Param
Pujya Baba Saheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
In a message, the Chief Minister said that Baba Saheb
Dr. Ambedkar strived for the cause of Dalits, backwards,
have-nots, religious minorities and the exploited people. He
ensured several provisions in the Constitution to provide
social justice and equal opportunities to all, irrespective of
their caste and creed. The contribution of Baba Saheb Dr.
Bhimrao Ambedkar for the betterment and welfare of the
people suffering from injustice and exploitation since
centuries owing to social system based on inequality would
always be remembered, she added.
Ms. Mayawati said that Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao
Ambedkar wanted to establish an egalitarian society in place
of social system based on inequality. She said that on the
occasion of his birth anniversary we should make resolve to
fulfil his dreams by following the path shown by him. It
would be a true homage to him, she added.
*********
Mayawati paints Lucknow blue for Ambedkar anniversary
14/04/2010
Mayawati paints Lucknow blue for Ambedkar anniversary
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has virtually got the
city painted blue on the eve of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar’s birth
anniversary.
Various memorials and monuments erected by Mayawati in different parts
of the state capital were draped in blue lights, while a net of tiny
blue lights was hung over every roundabout here.
Thousands of hoardings, posters, banners and buntings embossed with
pictures of the BSP supremo flanked all major thoroughfares of
Lucknow, which wore a festive look.
This was the second event within a month’s span that Lucknow was
soaked in blue - the ruling BSP’s colour - that had transformed the
city skyline. It was on March 15 - BSP founder and Mayawati’s
political mentor Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary - when similar
adornment was witnessed here.
Besides her own pictures, Mayawati also made it a point to display
portraits of her party’s ideologues and icons - Ambedkar, Narain Guru,
Shahuji Maharaj and Ramaswamy Periyar, besides of course Kanshi Ram -
all along the 18-km thoroughfare from the Lucknow airport to the
Ambedkar Memorial.
Other monuments, including Buddha Sthal, Kanshi Ram Memorial, Ramabai
Ambedkar Maidan, Kanshi Ram Eco Park, Prerna Bhawan etc., built by the
Uttar Pradesh chief minister at a cost of Rs.6,000 crore were also
decked up in blue. And so was the chief minister’s official residence
as well as all key government buildings.
Hordes of BSP volunteers were expected to visit the state capital to
offer their tributes at the Ambedkar memorial, that was spruced up for
Wednesday’s show.
We will continue to set up parks: Mayawati
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government will continue to set up parks and memorials in the names of SC/ST and OBC icons despite the criticism by political opponents of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, Chief Minister Mayawati suggested Wednesday.
“We have been constructing parks and memorials in the names of important SC/ST and OBC (Other Backward Classes) personalities just to give due respect to them,” she said while addressing a gathering on the occasion of birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar.
BSP leader shot dead in Gonda
Lucknow, April 14 (IANS) A Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader was Wednesday shot dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district while he was participating in a party demonstration against the women’s reservation bill, police said.
Hanuman Sharan Shukla a district panchayat member, was shot dead by an unidentified assailant while he was staging a sit-in protest along with other BSP workers against the bill that promises 33 percent quota to women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislatures.
“Shukla was shot dead at point blank range. He died on the spot,” police inspector Bharat Yadav told reporters in Gonda, some 200 km from Lucknow.
The murder was caught by several TV cameras present there to cover the event.
The political murder rattled the state, that too in the middle of the Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations. Police were hunting for the assailant
04/13/10
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Happy 14th April to all, its the D-day when our savior took birth and subsequently worked hard all his life so that we can come here and boast about anything we have today, Gave all the protections for us to live respectfully in Free India as a “Father of constitution of India”.
Jai Bhim!!
I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.
Quotation of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Dr. B. R. AMBEDKAR
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, affectionately known as Babasaheb, was one of the
most illustrious sons of India. He appeared on the Indian socio-political scene
in early 1920s and remained in the forefront of all social, economic, political
and religious efforts for upliftment of the lowest stratum of the Indian society
known as untouchables. Babasaheb was a great scholar who made outstanding
contributions as an economist, sociologist, legal luminary, educationalist,
journalist, Parliamentarian and above all, as a social reformer and champion of
human rights. Babasaheb organised, united and inspired the untouchables in
India to effectively use political means towards their goal of social equality.
Born in 1891 to an untouchable school teacher in the British Army, he
was highly educated – Ph.D. from Columbia University (1917), D.Sc. from
London School of Economics and Bar-At-Law from Gray’s Inn in London
(1923). These achievements spectacular by in standard were truly incredible for
an untouchable.
Dr. Ambedkar was an economist by his basic training. His career was
characterised by two distinct phases : the first one up to 1921 as a professional
economist contributing scholarly books and the second one as a political leader
thereafter until his demise in 1956, during which he made pathbreaking
contributions as a champion of human rights for the untouchables.
Dr. Ambedkar wrote three scholarly books on economics:
(i) Administration and Finance of the East India Company,
(ii) The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India, and
(iii) The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution
The first two represent his contribution to the field of public finance:
the first one evaluating finances of the East India Company during the period,
1792 through 1858 and the second one analysing the evolution of the Centre-
State financial relations in British India during the period, 1833 through 1921.
The third book, his
magnum opus in economics, represents a seminal
contribution to the field of monetary economics. In this book Dr. Ambedkar
examined the evolution of the Indian currency as a medium of exchange
covering the period, 1800 to 1893 and discussed the problem of the choice of
an appropriate currency system for India in the early 1920s. On his return to
India, Dr. Ambedkar did not write any book on economics per se, though
several of his other contributions during that period carry a distinctive imprint
of the economist in him.
As a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly (since 1926),
Ambedkar gave effective expression to the grievances of the rural poor through
his mass movements. His successful struggle against the prevailing land tenure
system called Khoti liberated a vast majority of the rural poor from an extreme
form of economic exploitation. His successful agitation against Mahar Vatan
emancipated a large section of the rural poor from virtual serfdom. He
presented a bill in the State Assembly aimed at preventing the malpractices of
money-lenders hurting the poor. On the industrial front, Dr. Ambedkar
founded in 1936, the Independent Labour Party. While the prevailing trade
unions fought for the rights of workers, they were indifferent to the rights of
untouchable workers as human beings. The new political party took up their
cause. Subsequently, as the Labour Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council
from 1942 to 1946, Dr. Ambedkar was instrumental in bringing about several
labour reforms including establishment of employment exchanges, generally
laying the foundations of industrial relations in Independent India. His
ministry also included irrigation, power and other public works. He played an
important role in shaping the irrigation policy, especially the Damodar Valley
Project.
A distinctive feature of Dr. Ambedkar’s scholarly contribution is his
perceptive analysis of economic dimension of social maladies, such as, the
caste system and untouchability. While Mahatma Gandhi had defended the
caste system on the basis of division of labour, Ambedkar came out with a
hard-hitting critique in his book ‘
Annihilation of Castes’ (1936), pointing out
that what was implicit in the caste system was
not merely division of labour but
also
a division of laboures. Dr. Ambedkar’s attack on the caste system was not
merely aimed at challenging the hegemony of the upper castes but had broader
connotation of economic growth and development. He argued that the caste
system had reduced the mobility of labour and capital which in turn, impeded
economic growth and development in India.
In his memorandum submitted to the British Government titled “States
and Minorities’ in 1947, Dr. Ambedkar laid down a strategy for India’s
economic development. The strategy placed “an obligation on the State to plan
the economic life of the people on lines which would lead to highest point of
productivity without closing every avenue to private enterprise and also
provide for the equitable distribution of wealth”.
After Independence, Dr. Ambedkar became the first Law Minister of
India. Even while drafting the Indian Constitution (as the Chairman, Drafting
Committee) in 1948-49, the economist in Dr. Ambedkar was very much alive.
He strongly recommended democracy as the ‘governing principle of human
relationship’ but emphasized that principles of equality, liberty and fraternity
which are the cornerstones of democracy should not be interpreted narrowly in
terms of the political rights alone. He emphasised the social and economic
dimensions of democracy and warmed that political democracy cannot succeed
when there is no social and economic democracy. He gave an expression to the
objective of economic democracy by corporating the Directive Principles of
State Policy in the Indian Constitution.
As the Law Minister, Dr. Ambedkar fought vigorously for the passage
of the Hindu Code Bill – most significant reform for women’s rights in respect
of marriage and inheritance. He resigned in September 1951 when the Bill did
not pass in the Parliament.
There is a unified theme running through Ambedkar’s multifaceted and
diverse contributions. The economic philosophy underlying is best captured in
his own phrase:
Bahujan Hitaya Bahujan Sukhay (i.e., Greatest Good to the
largest number of people). Ambedkar philosophy is
couched in social,
religious and moral considerations. The focal point of philosophy is the
oppressed and the depressed. The philosophy aims at giving life to those who
are disowned, at elevating those who are suppressed, and ennobling those who
are downtrodden and granting liberty, equality and justice to all irrespective of
their castes. Before his death in 1956, Dr. Ambedkar led nearly three quarter
of a million untouchables to Buddhism.
Caste is descent-based and hereditary in nature. It is a characteristic determined by one’s birth into a particular caste irrespective of the faith practiced by the individual. Some faiths believe in souls of human beings and no souls for other beings, so that they can do whatever they feel like. Some faiths believe in
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th rate souls and human beings without any soul, so that they could do whatever they want to do with such human beings. The Buddha did not believe in any soul, but said all are equal.
Caste denotes a system of rigid social stratification into ranked groups defined by descent and occupation. Under various caste systems throughout the world, caste divisions also dominate in housing, marriage, and general social interaction-divisions that are reinforced through the practice and threat of social ostracism, economic boycotts, and even physical violence.
Discriminatory and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of a vast global population has been justified on the basis of caste. In much of Asia and parts of < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Africa, caste is the basis for the definition and exclusion of distinct population groups by reason of their descent. Over 250 million people worldwide continue to suffer under what is often a hidden apartheid of segregation, modern-day slavery, and other extreme forms of discrimination, exploitation, and violence. Caste imposes enormous obstacles to their full attainment of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.
The so-called untouchables of South Asia-including Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan-the Buraku people of Japan, the Osu of Nigeria’s Igbo people, and certain groups in Senegal and Mauritania and prominence of caste as a social and economic indicator for the widespread South Asian diaspora share many features; features that have allowed even the most appalling practices to escape international scrutiny. In many cases, caste systems coexist with otherwise democratic structures. In countries such as India and Nigeria, governments have also enacted progressive legislation to combat abuses against lower-caste communities. Despite formal protections in law, however, discriminatory treatment remains endemic and discriminatory societal norms continue to be reinforced by government and private structures and practices, in some cases through violent means.
Thus Spoke Ambedkar
Quotations of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Untouchability shuts all doors of opportunities for betterment in life for Untouchables. It does not offer an Untouchable any opportunity to move freely in society; it compels him to live in dungeons and seclusion; it prevents him from educating himself and following a profession of his choice.
There have been many Mahatmas in India whose sole object was to remove Untouchability and to elevate and absorb the depressed classes, but everyone has failed in their mission. Mahatmas have come, Mahatmas have gone but the Untouchables have remained as Untouchables.
From the point of view of annihilation of caste, the struggle of the saints did not have any effects on society. The value of a man is axiomatic and self-evident; it does not come to him from the gilding of Bhakti. The saints did not struggle to establish this point. On the contrary their struggle had very unhealthy effect on the depressed classes. It provided the Brahmins with an excuse to silence them by telling them that they would be respected if they attained the status of Chokhamela.
It is mischievously propagated by Hindu scriptures that by serving the upper classes the Shudras achieve salvation. Untouchability is another appellation of slavery. No race can be raised by destroying its self-respect. So if you really want to uplift the Untouchables, you must treat them in the social order as free citizens, free to carve out their destiny.
What you have lost others have gained. Your humiliations are a matter of pride with others. You are made to suffer wants, privations and humiliations not because it was pre-ordained by the sins committed in your previous birth, but because of the overpowering tyranny and treachery of those who are above you. You have no lands because others have usurped them; you have no posts because others have monopolised them. Do not believe in fate; believe in your strength.
Learn to live in this world with self-respect. You should always cherish some ambition of doing something in this world. But remember that the age of selflessness has ended. A new epoch is set in. All things are now possible because of your being able to participate in the politics and legislature of your country.
Some people think that religion is not essential to the society. I do not hold this view. I consider the foundations of religion are essential to the society. At the roots of Hindu social system lies a Dharma as prescribed in the Manusmriti. Such being the case I do not think it is possible to abolish the inequality in the Hindu society unless foundations of the Smriti-religion is removed and a better one laid in its place. I however, despair of Hindu society, being able to reconstruct itself on such a better foundation.
My religious conversion is not inspired by any material motive. This is hardly anything I cannot achieve even while remaining an Untouchable. There is no other feeling than that of a spiritual feeling underlying my religious conversion. Hinduism does not appeal to my conscience. My self-respect cannot assimilate Hinduism. In your case change of religion is imperative for worldly as well as spiritual ends. Do not care for the opinion of those who foolishly ridicule the idea of conversion for material ends. Why should you live under the fold of that religion which has deprived you of honor, money, food and shelter?
I tell you, religion is for man and not man for religion. If you want to organise, consolidate and be successful in this world, change this religion. The religion that does not recognise you as a human being, or give you water to drink, or allow you to enter in temples is not worthy to be called a religion. The religion that forbids you to receive education and comes in the way of your material advancement is not worthy of the appellation ‘religion’. The religion that does not teach its followers to show humanity in dealing with its co-religionists is nothing but a display of a force. The religion that teaches its followers to suffer the touch of animals but not the touch of human beings is not a religion but a mockery. The religion that compels the ignorant to be ignorant and the poor to be poor is not a religion but a visitation!
The basic idea underlying religion is to create an atmosphere for the spiritual development of the individual. This being the situation, it is clear that you cannot develop your personality at all in Hinduism.
In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for development.
It is your claim to equality which hurts them. They want to maintain the status quo. If you continue to accept your lowly status ungrudgingly, continue to remain dirty, filthy, backward, ignorant, poor and disunited, they will allow you to live in peace. The moment you start to raise your level, the conflict starts. Untouchability is not transitory or temporary feature; it is eternal, it is lasting. Frankly it can be said that the struggle between the Hindus and the Untouchables is a never-ending conflict. It is eternal because the religion which assigns you the lowest status in society is itself divine and eternal according to the belief of the so-called high caste Hindus. No change warranted by change of time and circumstances is possible.
I have never claimed to be a universal leader of suffering humanity. The problem of the untouchables is quite enough for my slender strength. I do not say that other causes are not equally noble. But knowing that life is short, one can only serve one cause and I have never aspired to do more than serve the Untouchables.
Every man must have a philosophy of life, for everyone must have a standard by which to measure his conduct. And philosophy is nothing but a standard by which to measure.
Negatively I reject the Hindu social philosophy propounded in Bhagvad Gita, based as it is on the Triguna of Sankhya Philosophy which in my judgement is a cruel perversion of the philosophy of Kapila, and which had made the caste system of graded inequality the law of Hindu social life.
Positively, my social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. Let no one however say that I have borrowed my philosophy from the French Revolution. I have not. My philosophy has its roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha.
Indians today are governed by two different ideologies. Their political ideal set in the preamble of the Constitution affirms a life of liberty, equality and fraternity. Their social ideal embodied in their religion denies them.
Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.
Freedom of mind is the real freedom. A person whose mind is not free though he may not be in chains, is a slave, not a free man. One whose mind is not free, though he may not be in prison, is a prisoner and not a free man. One whose mind is not free though alive, is no better than dead. Freedom of mind is the proof of one’s existence.
What is the proof to judge that the flame of mental freedom is not extinguished in the mind of person? To whom can we say that his mind is free. I call him free who with his conscience awake realises his rights, responsibilities and duties. He who is not a slave of circumstances and is always ready and striving to change them in his flavor, I call him free. One who is not a slave of usage, customs, of meaningless rituals and ceremonies, of superstitions and traditions; whose flame of reason has not been extinguished, I call him a free man. He who has not surrendered his free will and abdicated his intelligence and independent thinking, who does not blindly act on the teachings of others, who does not blindly accept anything without critically analysing and examining its veracity and usefulness, who is always prepared to protect his rights, who is not afraid of ridicule and unjust public criticism, who has a sound conscience and self-respect so as not become a tool in the hands of others, I call him a free man. He who does not lead his life under the direction of others, who sets his own goal of life according to his own reasoning and decides for himself as to how and in what way life should be lead, is a free man. In short, who is a master of his own free will, him alone I call a free man.
Caste cannot be abolished by inter caste dinners or stray instances of inter caste marriages. Caste is a state of mind. It is a disease of mind. The teachings of the Hindu religion are the root cause of this disease. We practice casteism and we observe Untouchability because we are enjoined to do so by the Hindu religion. A bitter thing cannot be made sweet. The taste of anything can be changed. But poison cannot be changed into nectar.
What struck me most was that my community still continues to accept a position of humiliation only because caste Hindus persist in dominating over them. You must rely on your own strength, shake off the notion that you are in any way inferior to any community.
Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top dressing on an Indian soil whish is essentially undemocratic.
Majorities are of two sorts: (1) communal majority and (2) political majority. A political majority is changeable in its class composition. A political majority grows. A communal majority is born. The admission to a political majority is open. The door to a communal majority is closed. The politics of political majority are free to all to make and unmake. The politics of communal majority are made by its own members born in it.
The minorities in India have loyally accepted the rule of the majority whish is basically a communal majority and not a political majority. It is for the majority to realise its duty not to discriminate against minorities. Whether the minorities will continue or will vanish must depend upon this habit of majority. The moment the majority looses the habit of discriminating against the minority, the minorities can have no ground to exist. They will vanish.
We want our own people, people who will fight tooth and nail for our interest and secure privilege for the under-privileged; people who will undo the wrongs done to our people ;people who will voice our grievances fearlessly; people who can think, lead and act; people with principles and character. Such people should be sent to the legislatures. We must send such people to Legislatures who will be slaves to none but remain free to their conscience and get our grievances redressed.
Why does a human body become deceased? The reason is that as long as the human body is not free from suffering, mind cannot be happy. If a man lacks enthusiasm, either his body or mind is in a deceased condition…. Now what saps the enthusiasm in man? If there is no enthusiasm, life becomes drudgery - a mere burden to be dragged. Nothing can be achieved if there is no enthusiasm. The main reason for this lack of enthusiasm on the part of a man is that an individual looses the hope of getting an opportunity to elevate himself. Hopelessness leads to lack of enthusiasm. The mind in such cases becomes deceased…. When is enthusiasm created? When one breaths an atmosphere where one is sure of getting the legitimate reward for one’s labor, only then one feels enriched by enthusiasm and inspiration.
The fundamental principle of Buddhism is equality… Buddhism was called the religion of Shudras. There was only one man who raised his voice against separatism and Untouchability and that was Lord Buddha.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
I am myself a believer in Animas (non-violence). But I make a distinction between Animas and meekness. Meekness is weakness and weakness is voluntarily imposed upon oneself is not a virtue. I am believer in Animas but in the sense defined by the saint Takuma. Takuma has quite rightly said that Animas consisted of two things: (1) love and kindness towards all creatures and (2) destruction of evil doers. The second part of this definition is often lost sight of that the doctrine of Animas becomes so ridiculous.
Religion must mainly be a matter of principles only. It cannot be a matter of rules. The moment it degenerates into rules, it ceases to be a religion, as it kills responsibility which is an essence of the true religious act.
Men are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Otherwise both will wither and die.
In every country the intellectual class is the most influential class. This is the class which can foresee, advise and lead. In no country does the mass of the people live the life for intelligent thought and action. It is largely imitative and follows the intellectual class. There is no exaggeration in saying that the entire destination of the country depends upon its intellectual class. If the intellectual class is honest and independent, it can be trusted to take the initiative and give a proper lead when a crisis arises. It is true that the intellect by itself is no virtue. It is only a means and the use of a means depends upon the ends which an intellectual person pursues. An intellectual man can be a good man but he may easily be a rogue. Similarly an intellectual class may be a band of high-souled persons, ready to help, ready to emancipate erring humanity or it may easily be a gang of crooks or a body of advocates of narrow clique from which it draws its support.
My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can loose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality.
You must abolish your slavery yourselves. Do not depend for its abolition upon god or a superman. Remember that it is not enough that a people are numerically in the majority. They must be always watchful, strong and self-respecting to attain and maintain success. We must shape our course ourselves and by ourselves.
We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the social plane we have an India based on the principles of graded inequality, which means elevation for some and degradation for others. On the economic plane we have a society in which there are some who have immense wealth as against many who live in abject poverty.
The second thing we are wanting in is the recognition of the principle of fraternity. What does fraternity mean? Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians, all Indians being one people. It is a principle that gives solidarity to social life. It is difficult thing to achieve. It seems to me that there lies a heavy duty to see that democracy does not vanish from the earth as a governing principle of human relationship. If we believe in it, we must both be true and loyal to it. We must not only be staunch in our faith in democracy but we must resolve to see that whatever we do, we do not help the enemies of democracy to uproot the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. It follows that we must strive along with other democratic countries to maintain the basis of democratic civilization. If democracy lives we are sure to reap the benefit of it. If democracy dies it will be our doom. On that there can be no doubt.
The basis of my politics lies in the proposition that the Untouchables are not a sub-division or sub-section of Hindus, and that they are a separate and distinct element in the national life of India.
The true function of law consists in repairing the faults in society. Unfortunately ancient societies never dared to assume the function of repairing their own defects; consequently they decayed. This country has seen the conflict between ecclesiastical law and secular law long before Europeans sought to challenge the authority of the Pope. Kautilya’s Arthshastra lays down the foundation of secular law. In India unfortunately ecclesiastical law triumphed over secular law. In my opinion this was the one of the greatest disasters in the country. The unprogressive nature of the Hindu society was due to the notion that the law cannot be changed
Civilization has never been a continuous process. There were states and societies which at one time had been civilised. In the course of time something happened which made these societies stagnant and decayed. This could be illustrated by India’s history itself. There could be no doubt that one of the countries which could boast of ancient civilization is India. When the inhabitants of Europe were living under the barbaric conditions, this country had reached the highest peak of civilization, it had parliamentary institutions when the people of Europe were mere nomads.
I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.
Justice has always evoked ideas of equality, of proportion of compensation. Equity signifies equality. Rules and regulations, right and righteousness are concerned with equality in value. If all men are equal, then all men are of the same essence, and the common essence entitles them of the same fundamental rights and equal liberty… In short justice is another name of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Anyone who studies working of the system of social economy based on private enterprise and pursuit of personal gain will realise how it undermines, if it does not actually violate the individual rights on which democracy rests. How many have to relinquish their rights in order to gain their living? How many have to subject themselves to be governed by private employers?
I hate injustice, tyranny, pompousness and humbug, and my hatred embraces all those who are guilty of them. I want to tell my critics that I regard my feelings of hatred as a real force. They are only the reflexes of love I bear for the causes I believe in and I am in no wise ashamed of it.
Indifferentism is the worst kind of disease that can affect people.
Political tyranny is nothing compared to the social tyranny and a reformer who defies society is a more courageous man than a politician who defies Government.
Every man who repeats the dogma of Mill that one country is no fit to rule another country must admit that one class is not fit to rule another class.
One cannot have any respect or regard for men who take the position of the reformer and then refuse to see the logical consequences of that position, let alone following them out in action.
History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.
Slavery does not merely mean a legalised form of subjection. It means a state of society in which some men are forced to accept from others the purposes which control their conduct.
This condition obtains even where there is no slavery in the legal sense. It is found where as in caste system, some persons are forced to carry on the prescribed callings which are not their choice.
India is a peculiar country and her nationalists and patriots are a peculiar people. A patriot and a nationalist in India is one who sees with open eyes his fellow men treated as being less than man. But his humanity does not rise in protest. He knows that men and women for no cause are denied their rights. But it does not prick his civil sense of helpful action. He finds a whole class of people shut out from public employment. But it does not rouse his sense of justice and fair play. Hundreds of evil practices that injure man and society are perceived by him. But they do not sicken him with disgust. The patriot’s one cry is power for him and his class. I am glad I do not belong to that class of patriots. I belong to that class which takes its stand on democracy and which seeks to destroy monopoly in every form. Our aim is to realise in practice our ideal of one man one value in all walks of life - political, economical and social.
There is no nation of Indians in the real sense of the world, it is yet to be created. In believing we are a nation, we are cherishing a great delusion. How can people divided into thousand of castes be a nation? The sooner we realise that we are not yet a nation, in a social and psychological sense of the world, the better for us.
It is not enough to be electors only. It is necessary to be law-makers; otherwise those who can be law-makers ill be the masters of those who can only be electors.
Walter Bagehot defined democracy as ‘ Government by discussion’. Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as ‘ A Government of the people, by the people and for the people’.
My definition of democracy is - A form and a method of Government whereby revolutionary changes in the social life are brought about without bloodshed. That is the real test. It is perhaps the severest test. But when you are judging the quality of the material you must put it to the severest test.
Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards our fellow men.
A democratic form of Government presupposes a democratic form of a society, The formal framework of democracy is of no value and would indeed be a misfit if there was no social democracy. It may not be necessary for a democratic society to be marked by unity, by community of purpose, by loyalty to public ends and by mutuality of sympathy. But it does unmistakably involve two things. The first is an attitude of mind, and attitude of respect and equality towards their fellows. The second is a social organisation free from rigid social barriers. Democracy is incompatible and inconsistent with isolation and exclusiveness resulting in the distinction between the privileged and the unprivileged.
Democracy is not a Form of Government, but a form of social organisation.
What we must do is not to content ourselves with mere political democracy. We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well. Political democracy cannot last unless there is at the base of it, a social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognises liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. These principles of liberty, equality and fraternity are not to be treated as separate items. They form a union in the sense that, to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy. Liberty cannot be divorced from equality, nor can liberty and equality be divorced from fraternity.
Without social union, political unity is difficult to be achieved. If achieved, it would be as precarious as a summer sapling, liable to be uprooted by the gust of wind. With mere political unity, India may be a state. But to be a state is not to be a nation and a state which is not a nation has small prospects of survival in the struggle of existence. This is especially true where nationalism - the most dynamic force of modern times, is seeking everywhere to free itself by the destruction and disruption of all mixed states. The danger to a mixed and composite state, therefore lies not so much in external aggression as in the internal resurgence of nationalities which are fragmented, entrapped, suppressed and held against their will.
The idea of fundamental rights has become a familiar one since their enactment in the American Constitution and in the Constitution framed by the Revolutionary France. The idea of making a gift of fundamental rights to every individual is no doubt very laudable. The question is how to make them effective? The prevalent view is that once the rights are enacted in law then they are safeguarded. This again is an unwarranted assumption. As experience proves, rights are protected not by law but by social and moral conscience of the society. If social conscience is such that it is prepared to recognise the rights which law proposes to enact, rights will be safe and secure. But if the fundamental rights are opposed by the community, no Law, no Parliament, no Judiciary can guarantee them in the real sense of the world. What is the use of Fundamental rights to the Untouchables in India? As Burke said, there is no method found for punishing the multitude. Law can punish a single solitary recalcitrant criminal. It can never operate against the whole body of people who choose to defy it. Social conscience is the only safeguard of all rights, fundamental or non-fundamental.
Rights are real only if they are accompanied by remedies. It is no use giving rights if the aggrieved person has no legal remedy to which he can resort when his rights are invaded.
Lost rights are never regained by appeals to the conscience of the usurpers, but by relentless struggle…. Goats are used for sacrificial offerings and not lions.
Life should be great rather than long.
For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice, necessity and importance of political and social rights.
I feel that the constitution is workable, it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peacetime and in wartime. Indeed, if I may say so, if things go wrong under the new Constitution, the reason will not be that we had a bad Constitution. What we will have to say is that Man was vile.
Equality may be a fiction but nonetheless one must accept it as a governing principle.
What are we having this liberty for? We are having this liberty in order to reform our social system, which is full of inequality, discrimination and other things, which conflict with our fundamental rights.
Our object in framing the Constitution is rally two-fold: (1) To lay down the form of political democracy, and (2) To lay down that our ideal is economic democracy and also to prescribe that every Government whatever is in power shall strive to bring about economic democracy. The directive principles have a great value, for they lay down that our ideal is economic democracy.
If I find the constitution being misused, I shall be the first to burn it.
On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of democracy which this Constituent Assembly has so laboriously built up.
There can be no gain saying that political power in this country has too long been the monopoly of the few, and the many are not beasts of burden but also beasts of prey.
The monopoly has not merely deprived them of their chance of betterment, it has sapped them of what may be called the significance of life. Those downtrodden classes are tired of being governed. They are impatient to govern themselves. This urge of self-realisation in the downtrodden must not be allowed to devolve into class struggle or class war. It would lead to the division of the House. That would indeed be a day of disaster. For, as has been well-said by Abraham Lincoln: “A house divided against cannot stand very long”. Therefore the sooner room is made for realisation of their aspiration, the better for the few, the better for the country, the better for the independence and the better for the continuance of its democratic structure. This can only be done by the establishment of equality and fraternity in all walks of life.
It is disgraceful to live at the cost of one’s self-respect. Self-respect is the most vital factor in life. Without it, man is a cipher. To live worthily with self-respect, one has to overcome difficulties. It is out of hard and ceaseless struggle alone that one derives strength, confidence and recognition.
Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence.
Sincerity is the sum of all moral qualities.
Man is mortal. Everyone has to die some day or the other. But one must resolve to lay down one’s life in enriching the noble ideals of self-respect and in bettering one’s human life. We are not slaves. Nothing is more disgraceful for a brave man than to live life devoid of self-respect.
My social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. My philosophy has roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha.
Emerson has said that consistency is a virtue of an ass. No thinking human being can be tied down to a view once expressed in the name of consistency. More important than consistency is responsibility. A responsible person must learn to unlearn what he has learned. A responsible person must have the courage to rethink and change his thoughts. Of course there must be good and sufficient reason for unlearning what he has learned and for recasting his thoughts. There can be no finality in rethinking.
John Dewey said: “Every society gets encumbered with what is trivial, with what is dead wood from the past and what is positively perverse. As a society becomes more enlightened, it realises that it is responsible not to conserve and transmit the whole of its achievement, but only such as makes a better future society”
There is nothing fixed, nothing eternal, nothing sanatan; everything is changing, change is the law of life for individuals as well as for society. In a changing society there must be constant revolution of old values.
No civilised society of today presents more survivals of primitive times than does the Indian society. Its religion is essentially primitive and its tribal code, in spite of the advance of time and civilization, operates in all its pristine vigor even today. Indian society still savors of the clan system, even though there are no clans.
An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts. In an ideal society there should be many interests consciously communicated and shared.
The strength of a society depends upon the presence of points of contacts, possibilities of interaction between different groups that exist in it. These are what Carlyle calls “Organic filaments”, i.e. the elastic threads which helps to bring the disintegrating elements together and to reunite them.
Heroes and hero-worship is a hard fact in India’s political life. I agree that hero-worship is demoralising for the devotee and dangerous to the country. I welcome the criticism so far as it conveys the caution that you must know your man is really great before you start worshipping him. This unfortunately is not an easy task. For in these days with the Press in hand it is easy to manufacture Great Men. Carlyle used a happy phrase when he described the Great Men of history as so many bank notes. Like bank notes they represent gold. What we have to see that they are not forged notes. I admit that we ought to be more cautious in our worship of Great Men. For in this country we have arrived at such a stage when alongside the notice boards saying “Beware of pickpockets”, we need to have notice boards saying “Beware of Great Men”. Even Carlyle who defended the worship of Great Men warned his readers how: “Multitudes of Great Men have figured in history who were false and selfish “.
Hero-worship in the sense of expressing our unbound admiration is one thing. To obey the hero is a totally different kind of worship. There is nothing wrong in the former while the latter is no doubt a most pernicious thing. The former is man’s respect for which is noble and of which the great men are only an embodiment. The latter is the serf’s fealty to his lord. The former is consistent with respect, but the latter is a sign of debasement. The former does not take away one’s intelligence to think and independence to act. The latter makes one perfect fool. The former involves no disaster to the state. The latter is a source of positive danger to it.
In India, ‘Bhakti’ or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship plays a part in politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other of the world. ‘Bhakti’ in religion may be a road to salvation of the soul. But in politics, ‘Bhakti’ or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.
The questions which President Roosevelt propounded for the American public to consider will arise here, if they have not already arisen: Who shall rule - wealth or man? Which shall lead - money or intellect? Who shall fill the public stations - educated and patriotic free men or the feudal serf’s of the corporate capital? For the president, Indian politics, at any rate the Hindu part of it, instead of being spiritualised has become grossly commercialised, so much so that it has become a byword for corruption. Many men of culture are refusing to concern themselves in this cesspool. Politics has become a kind of sewage system intolerably unsavory and insanitary. To become a politician is like going to work in the drain.
History bears out the proposition that political revolutions have always been preceded by social and religious revolutions. Social reform in India has few friends and many critics.
Law and order are the medicine of the body politic and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered.
The world owes much to rebels who would dare to argue in the face of the pontiff (high priest) and insist that he is not infallible.
A people and their religion must be judged by social standards based on social ethics. No other standard would have any meaning if religion is held to be necessary good for the well-being of the people.
Ethnologists are of the opinion that men of pure race exist nowhere and that there has been admixture of all races in all parts of the world - especially is this the case with the people if India. Mr. D.R. Bhandarkar has stated: “There is hardly a class or caste in India which has not a foreign strain in it. There is as an admixture of alien blood not only among the warrior classes - the Rajputs and Marathas - but among the Brahmins who are under the happy delusion that they are free from all foreign elements.
The question is not whether a community lives or dies, the question is on what plane does it live. There are different modes of survival. But all are not equally honorable. For an individual as well as a society, there is a gulf between merely living and living worthily. To fight in a battle and live in a glory is one mode. To beat a retreat to surrender and to live the life of a captive is also a mode of survival.
The sovereignty of scriptures of all religions must come to an end if we want to have a united integrated modern India.
Law and religion are two forces which govern the conduct of men. At times they act as handmaids to each other. At other times they act as check and counter-check. Of the two forces, Law is personal while religion is impersonal. Law being personal it is capable of being unjust and iniquitous. But religion being impersonal, it can be impartial, it is capable of defeating the inequity committed by law. Religion is believed to ennoble man and not degrade him. Hinduism is an exception.
I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality & fraternity.
The relationship between husband & wife should be one of closest friends.
To open or not to open the temples is a question for you to consider & not for me to agitate. If you think it is bad manners not to believe in the sanctity of human beings, then throw open the doors & be a gentleman, but if you wish to remain a orthodox Hindu then shut the doors & damn yourself, for I don’t care to come.
We are Indians, firstly & lastly
Given the time & circumstances, nothing under the sun shall stop this country from becoming a super power.
Being grateful has limitations, no man can be grateful at the cost of his dignity, no woman at the cost of her chastity & no country at the cost of its freedom.
I hope that Mr. Gandhi will not drive me to the necessity of making a choice between his life & rights of my people, for I shall never consent to deliver my people bound hand & foot to the orthodox for generations to come.
A great man is different from an eminent one in that he is ready to be the servant of the society.
So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.
On 26th Jan. 1950,India will be an independent country. What would happen to her independence? Will she maintain or will she lose it again? This is the first thought that comes to my mind. It is not that India was never an independent country. The point is that she once lost the independence she had. Will she lose it a second time? It is this thought which makes me most anxious for the future. What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by treachery of some of her own people…
Will history repeat itself ?It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes &creeds, we are going to have many political parties with diverse & opposing political creeds. Will Indians place the country above their creed or creed above their country? I do not know, But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time & probably be lost forever. This eventuality we all must resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood!
BSP rally in Ambedkar Nagar Wednesday
Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will be holding rally in the state’s Ambedkar Nagar town on Bhimrao Ambedkar’s birth anniversary Wednesday.
Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and whom the BSP eulogises as its top icon.
The BSP rally will be held. However, Chief Minister Mayawati has chosen to keep herself away from the event, which will be addressed by her close lieutenant and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma.
Mayawati has also directed her partymen to stage nation-wide demonstrations against the Congress party. Simultaneously, the BSP also proposes to reiterate its opposition to the women’s reservation bill, which Mayawati has already termed “anti-SC/ST”.
“Our nation-wide demonstrations are aimed at exposing the Congress lies of championing the cause of SC/STs. We will tell the people of this country how the Congress party had always opposed the wellbeing of downtrodden SC/STs, who were only exploited as vote banks,” state BSP chief Swami Prasad Maurya said here.
Another close Mayawati lieutenant and multi-portfolio minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui would lead the Lucknow show.
The chief minister would simply address the media after paying floral tributes to Ambedkar at the Rs.1,200 crore memorial dedicated to him here.
Meanwhile heavy security arrangements have been made in Ambedkar Nagar.
BSP plans protest
Bangalore:The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will protest against the Women’s Reservation Bill on 14th April, at 1:0 AM Opp. to Town Hall, Bangalore, B.R.Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, as part of the nation-wide protest. The protest is to seek “quota within quota” in the Bill which provides 33 percent reservation to women.
BAHUJAN SAMAJ PARTY
Karnataka State Unit
“NATION-WIDE AGITATION”
On the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr.Ambedkar,
the Messiah of SC/ST/OBCs and the entire exploited
masses. against the Congress-led UPA Government’s
adoption of ‘Women’s Reservation Bill’ in the Rajyasabha
April 14, 2010 at 11 AM In front of Town Hall, Bangalore.
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The Congress-led UPA Government in the Centre has got the Women’s Reservation Bill passed in the Rajyasabha on March 9, 2010. According to this Bill the Indian women will get a reservation of 33% of seats in the Loksabha and stste assemblies. On the adoption of this Bill in the Rajyasanha, the Congress leaders are boastfully claiming that they created a revolution in the lives of Indian women!
The history of is the history of extreme inequality and our women have been the worst victims of it. Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar the Chief Architect of Indian Constitution, was the first leader to take initiative to end this inequality against the entire women population. He presented the first post-independent Bill-Hindu Code Bill – in the Indian Parliament assuring equal rights in property and status for the women. But this revolutionary Bill was ruthlessly defeated in the Parliament by the then ruling Congress Government under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. All the ant-women conservatives joined together and defeated the Hindu Code Bill. Dr. Ambedkar could have continued in his chair as the Law Minister even after this event. But he did not find any meaning in continuing with such an ant-woman and anti-human government. He was convinced beyond doubt that the Jawaharlal Nehru’s Congress Government would never allow the country to progress as per the Constitutional provisions. Hence, he resigned his post in Sep.1951 and thereby became the first and the only leader to sacrifice his post for the cause of women’s empowerment! This is the infamous history of the Congress which is beating its own drums for women’s reservation! This being the past record of Congress, what made its leaders to push the Women’s Reservation Bill so hurriedly now?
It is the Kanshi Ram phenomena that forced the Congress to ‘respect’ the women’s rights. Bahujan movement of Manyawar Kanshi Ram during nineties had created a tremendous socio-political awareness among the backward classes of India. Consequently , the Congress had, for the first time, to depend on the smaller parties to form the government in 1991 and the era of coalition governments began. The political awareness among the Bahujan Samaj has upset the apple-cart of Congress! We have been witnessing the growing presence of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Other Backward Class and Religious Minorities in the Parliament and state assemblies. The 125 years –old Congress Party is not able to form governments on its own in many of the states and also at the Centre. The Nehru family and the think-tank of Congress have been trying all kinds of tricks and strategies to regain their lost hold. The Women’s Reservation Bill is one such strategy to fool the Backward Classes in the guise of protecting the women’s rights. The hidden agenda of the Congress party, through this Bill, is to empower the rich savarnas to regain their control over the political power in the Centre and state assemblies. That is why they are vehemently opposing any representation to Backward Classes in the proposed Women’s Reservation Bill!
Bahujan Samaj Party, the third biggest political party of India, under the leadership of ‘Iron Lady’ and one of the eight most powerful women of the world, Behan Kumari Mayawati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous State of India, is committed to the cause of women’s liberty as envisaged by Babasaheb Dr.Ambedkar. The women of India, particularly the women from backward classes-have remained educationally socially backward and economically poor. They deserve utmost attention of the governments. But unfortunately, not much has been done in this regard by any party in power. The present Women’s Reservation Bill too has nothing much to offer for the empowerment of these women.
Reservation, as an affirmative action, in an effective means of empowerment. As per the Indian Constitution, reservation can be provided only to those sections that are educationally and socially backward. But the Women’s Reservation Bill is quite contrary to this constitutionally provision. The Congress-led UPA Government has shown total disregard for the principles of Babasaheb Dr.Ambedkar by committing a sacrilege against the Constitution through this Bill. In this present Bill there is no separate quota for the SC/ST women within the quota of 33% proposed for all the women. The SC/STs have already got a reservation of 22.5% in the Loksabha and accordingly they have 120 seats reserved. Out of these 120 seats, 40 seats will be deducted for the SC/ST women, if the present Bill becomes the Act! Not only that, these 40 seats will be interchanged with other 80 reserved seats once every five years! Can you imagine the devastative effects of such a Bill becoming an Act?
In the present situation, it is a Herculean task for the SC/STs to create their own constituencies. Such being the case, if their constituencies are to be interchanges once in five years, there cannot be any scope for the development of leadership among SC/STs in future. This is the biggest evil object of the Bill being created by the Congress Party! And the elected representatives of reserved constituencies can never develop an emotional attachment with their constituencies. They will remain as aliens throughout their tenure as they would be aware from the very beginning that they would not represent the same constituencies in the next term! This kind of representation will be harmful to the democracy and the development of nation!
The proposed Women’s Reservation Bill does not give any representation from the women from Other Backward Classes, Religious Minorities and the poor among the savarnas. It means, this Bill is absolutely of no use to the majority number of women! It only means that the Congress and other manuvadi parties will easily be able to capture political power by getting elected savarna rich women in over 150 constituencies! And these undemocratic phenomena will repeat in states also. In future, the SC/ST women representatives will become useless, powerless, ineffective and namesake representatives and the women from OBCs and Religious Minorities will never have an opportunity to enter either the Parliament or the state assemblies!
Foreseeing all these socio-political devastations, the Bahujan Samaj Party has opposed and boycotted the Women’s Reservation Bill within the Parliament House. But the Congress Party, which has determined to throw the constitutional ideals to wind, has got passed in the Rajyasabha! However, the BSP will not remain as a mute spectator. We, under the leadership of Behan Kum. Mayawati, are launching a “Nation-wide Agitation” against this Women’s Reservation Bill. In the first phase of our Agitation, we will be organizing Dharnas in the state capitals of the country on the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr.Ambedkar, i.e., on April 14, 2010.
We request you all to join this mass agitation to prevent an unconstitutional Bill becoming an act.
Participants:
Dr.Ashok Kumar Siddharth, MLC, UP Karnataka State Incharge.
Mr.Marasandra Muniappa, Karnataka State President
Mr.N.Mahesh State Vice-President,
State General Secretaries: Mr.Gopinath, Mr.Jigini Shankar, Mr.Bulla Subbarao. State Treasurer: KoramangalaMuniappa. State Secretaries: Mr.R.Muniappa Mr.Julfikar Haasmi, Mr.B.Kamalanabhan, Ramachandra Kosagi, Changappa, State Executive Committee Members: Dr.Subhash Bharani IPS, Smt.Shoba Bellary Basavaraju, Smt.Lakshmi Gopinath, Shamshul Hudha, Smt.Nahida Salma, B.K.Nagaraj and other Office Bearers.
Special Note: Kannada version
of Babasaheb Dr.Ambedkar’s statement
issued after his resignation from the post of Law
Minister protesting Congress Government’s refusal to
Adopt Hindu Code Bill in 1951 will be released.
Let’s meet with family & friends 2 garland Dr.Ambedkar Statue @ Vidhana Saudha & 8AM today d auspicious & prosperous day all over d Country.
Hats off to Iron Lady !
The Uttar Pradesh Government has taken an extraordinary step towards police reforms, something which everybody talks about but nobody does anything to implement. Ms Mayawati has instructed her administration to scan the answer-sheets of 2,28,000 candidates who recently sat for a selection examination for 35,000 posts of constables and make them available online. Each applicant will have the right to access his or her answer-sheet, tally it with the listed right answers, and if he or she has been unfairly marked, file an appeal. Given the fact that Indians are a litigious lot, we can expect many of the hopefuls to not only appeal against their grades but even approach the courts. But since it was an objective test based on multiple choice answers and the examiners had no discretionary powers to either mark up or mark down the applicants based on their ‘subjective’ assessment of his or her abilities, it’s unlikely those who contest the results will get too far in using loopholes in the law to either hold up the recruitment process or force the Government to employ those unworthy of the job.
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Babasaheb Ambedkar and ‘the SC/STs(Aboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, i.e., the Great Prabuddha Bharath) of Europe’
By Pardeep Singh Attri
Dispatches from Hungary - I
Jai bhim Network’s logo
Jai Bhim Network is a group that is working among the Romas (derogatorily referred as Gypsies) in Hungary. In their effort of creating linkages with the SC/ST movement of India and draw inspiration the network has been in constant interaction with many of the young SC/ST activists in India. The network is also instrumental in inviting young SC/ST students and activists to stay with the community in Hungary and exchange their views. Towards this three of us – me, Swati Kamble and Bharat are in Hungary since last fortnight and will be writing for our blog on our experiences. Here is my first post.
It was 14th April 2008, when I wrote an article titled Schools, Toilets or Temples? On the same day I got an email from one Mr. Derdak Tibor, appreciating the article. He is a Hungarian activist working with the Roma community in the country.
Hungarian Roma community leader Janos Orsos with Buddhist kids in Maharashtra, December 2005
This was the beginning of long email exchanges between us where I was able to learn a lot about the lives and the problem faced by Romas (derogatorily referred as Gypsies), especially in Hungary. Till then I had a very limited knowledge about the community, derived mostly from the English movies that I saw.
‘Gypsies’ are normally considered to be a nomadic group with the worldwide population of about 12 million, originally from south Asia. With their 8 million population in Europe they constitute one of the biggest minority blocks in many European countries and have the history of being discriminated, stigmatized and persecuted by white Europeans based on their prejudices and stereotyping of the community. They are still mostly found segregated from the mainstream, hated and ridiculed by the white society.
After communicating with Tibor, as an Indian Scheduled Caste I was not surprised to recognize the fact that most often than not these movies displayed the prejudices and stereotypes that are prevalent in Europe against the Romas.
Babasaheb as a source of inspiration
One of the most interesting facts that Derdak Tibor informed me was that his group of Roma activists and community leaders in Hungary derive their inspiration from Babasaheb Ambedkar and Buddhism and trying to inculcate Ambedkarite thoughts in their movement towards equal rights for the Roma community. They have created a support network called Jai Bhim Network, embraced Buddhism and opened an high school in the name of Dr Ambedkar High School for the Roma children in Hungary.
Roma activists find their situation in the otherwise ‘white’ Hungary almost akin to the SC/STs of India and therefore they now call their community, ‘the SC/STs of Europe’ as the Romas are also found in other European countries too and face the similar prejudices and discrimination every where.
Apparently, the connection with Babasaheb and the Indian SC/STs started when Derdak Tibor found a book on Babasaheb in Paris and got inspired after reading it. He was immediately able to draw the linkages between the discrimination faced by Indian SC/STs and Romas in Europe. Fascinated by the life and struggle of Babasaheb, he together with his group of Roma activists interacted with Friends of World Buddhist Order (FWBO), a group that has been working with Ambedkarite Buddhist in India for quite some time now.
This interaction led Derdak Tibor and Janos Orsos (one of the Roma leaders) to visit India and to meet SC/ST activists, particularly in Maharashtra in December 2005. By then both of them knew about the work of Babasaheb and had been deeply impressed by what they had read of his work and the suffering of his people. But after visiting India they felt very deep connections with the SC/STs here and got convinced that Babasaheb’s message of social transformation is deeply relevant to the Romas as well.
After this visit, both these activists started introducing Dr. Ambedkar and his philosophy of social transformation amongst the Romas in Hungary and are making huge efforts to bond with Indian SC/ST movement by creating various linkages through their platform ‘Jai Bhim Network’.
One of them is to invite young SC/ST activists to Hungary and provide them opportunities to interact with the Roma community and through this to provide exposure to both the Indian SC/STs and the Hungarian SC/STs about each other’s struggle towards a just and humane society.
Recently held Roma community’s protest in Budapest, Hungary, against their segregation
I am writing these dispatches from Hungary being part of one such Indian SC/ST delegation that has been invited by the Jai Bhim Network to visit, interact and stay with the Roma community living in a small town called Sajókaza in Northeast Hungary.
In Sajókaza
On 24th September 2009, me and Bharat reached Budapest, the capital city. Both of us were little nervous being travelling abroad first time and were much relieved to see one Mr Saboj from Jai Bhim Network waiting for us at the airport. Within no time in the company of Mr. Saboj, we felt completely at ease and started interacting as if we knew each other since decades.
Perhaps our respective movements created some synergy between us and I immediately felt a fellow feeling, a bond and a deep relationship between us though we lived thousands of miles apart and were meeting for the first time. At night we reached Sajókaza village where we had to stay with the Roma community. Swati Kamble, our fellow companion from India, had already arrived there.
Roma Houses are located outside the village
Sajókaza is a village about 30 km north east of Miskolc and has a population of about 3300 people with half of them from the Roma community. It is a very beautiful village. Big fields around the village refreshed my memory of the villages of Punjab.
However, majority of the Romas live in the outskirts of village in the ghettos. Their life style is totally different from other Hungarians of the village. Once upon a time, in 1900s, almost all Romas of the village were employed in the nearby mines but now there are all unemployed and live on monthly benefits, which they get from the government.
Hungarian people consider Roma people the most problematic community of Hungary as they are different from the other Hungarians. Hungarian people hate them just because they need someone to hate in difficult times and being helpless Romas are the easy target. Even a local police chief Albert Pasztor said publicly that, “The perpetrators of all crimes are gypsies”.
The Roma kids are forced to sit in the separate classroom. The children grow up constantly being dehumanized, humiliated, persecuted and rejected. I read there were separate cup plates for their kids around 10 years back.
I also became aware that the Roma kids are declared mentally challenged and are send to special schools and now days around 90% of special school students are from this community only. Even the special schools seems to take more interest in these students rather than other students, may be because they get higher grants/money/benefits in the name of these ‘mentally challenged’ kids.
It was very interesting to find that, during our travel, most of the Hungarian people thought that we were also Hungarian Romas till the time we spoke English. Then only they could understand that we are not Romas but from some third world country.
Our physical similarities with the Romas are so striking that even many Romas thought that we belong there. It made us feel like at home, being among our own community and people and delighted me to no end. It became a bit emotional when old Roma women, knowing that we have come from India and are from the SC/ST community, said, “You are like my grand children”. Perhaps the Indian origin of Romas, our physical similarities and similar conditions of facing prejudices and discrimination from the rest of the society made us feel that we belong to one community.
During our stay, on the first hand itself it became very clear that the life of Roma people is not an easy one and suffer as much discrimination as faced by us SC/STs in our every day lives. There are 3 churches in Sajókaza, but not even a single Roma visit them. When I asked why it is so? The young Romas replied, “We are not treated well in the society and are looked down. Hence we don’t feel like visiting them”. It immediately reminded me of the Hindu temples in India that actually prohibits our entry.
Later during our stay we were invited to teach more about India, its culture and the problem of caste at Dr. Ambedkar High School there. Our students included Roma children and women from all age group. All of them listened us patiently and were very curious to know more about our community, its struggle to reclaim human dignity which they found resonating completely with their own struggle in Hungary.
I was also pleasantly surprised to know that due to the regular activities of Jai Bhim Network, most of our students were aware of the caste virus and the role of Dr Ambedkar. Our next stop was at nearby place called Hegymeg and we interacted with the students of Dr Ambedkar High School there also on the same lines.
Roma kids playing near their ghettos
Next evening, we went to the local community centre called Pink House accompanied by two other young Roma activists Benö and Kubu to teach English to the women and also attended an awareness programme organised by Roma activists for nourishing dreams of good life among Roma people. There we also participated in the drama and singing classes organised by Benö where we danced to our heart content.
During the proceedings of awareness programme, I enquired one participant about her dream. She replied, “I would like my kids to go to school then university and get some good jobs and earn well”. She was pained with the stigma that gypsies are lazy and are not interested in education. Her sentiments perfectly echoed that of any person from our community who also share the same dream of being free from caste-based stigmas and is able to provide for education of his/her children. We also visited the nearby kindergarten in Sajókaza and interacted with the kids and played with them.
English Language and Romas
However, before writing more about my other experiences here working with Jai Bhim Network, I would like to write about English language. The local Roma community speaks a dialect of Romanian language and not many can speak and understand English.
However, the Roma activists understand the significance of English language in today’s world and are making efforts to promote English among the community that will open new opportunities for young Romas in globalised world together with creating an avenue to highlight about their discrimination and to get support from the international community.
In this, the Roma activists give example of the Indian SC/STs who due to their struggle for education and relative access to English language is able to globalise their struggle. While interacting, I also tried to emphasise on the importance for English for our emancipation and empowerment and narrated the struggle of Jotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule for modern English education and their urgings for SC/STs and other marginalised sections of the society to learn English.
During one of our interactions, I even recited one poem written by Savitribai Phule known as ‘Mother English’. I also referred to the appeal of our Babasaheb for SC/STs to come out of their ghettos/villages and march towards cities. In contrast to Gandhi’s silly romanticism about villages, it was the farsightedness of Babasaheb that knew that the development of the SC/ST community is not possible till they live in ghettos/villages. Only coming to the urban centres could get them better access to schools and other facilities. I feel the same is true with the Romas too.
While interacting with the students of Dr. Ambedkar High School at Sajókaza, I mentioned about the language problem that I was facing there and told about my helplessness in interacting with them with more freedom. I got an interesting reply from one of the student (Benö’s brother) that “Till recently we were not given right to study, now we are learning and you come again next year, we will learn English by them”.
Jai Bhim Network and its work
Not many Europeans are interested in knowing Roma people and are grossly insensitive towards the problems faced by them. Jai Bhim Network inspired by Dr B R Ambedkar’s work is working mostly in the northern part of Hungary, where they have been running a school named Dr Ambedkar High School in Sajókaza and another one in the same name in Hegymeg. They are working in the areas where the chances for Roma kids to get higher education are very low. Hardly anyone there goes even to secondary schools.
The objective of the Network is to uplift the living standards of Roma people, to help them come out of poverty and to achieve equal social & economic status in the Hungarian society. Moreover the Network is soon going to start Microfinance Institution on the lines of Grameen Bank from Bangladesh, which changed millions lives there.
to be continued…
October 14th, 2009 in
Culture,
History,
Identity,
Language,
Travel | tags:
Ambedkar,
Derdak Tibor,
Europe,
FWBO,
Gypsies,
Hungary,
Jai Bhim,
Janos Orsos,
Roma
04/12/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
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http://themoviesclip.com/kids-movies/lord-buddha-kids-animation-cartoon-movie
Lord Buddha – Kids Animation Cartoon Movie
Watch the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha – The Awakened One in this animation cartoon movie for Kids. These animation movies not only entertain your kids but also introduce them to Great Minds, Epics and the culture and values of the different regions in the world. Click http://www.rajshri.com/Listing/Kids/Free-Hindi-Kids-Videos-Cartoon-Animation-Nursery-Rhyme-Baby-Clips to watch more animation films.
THE BUDDHISM
THE LIFE OF LORD BUDDHA
There was a small kingdom in Nepal whose capital was Kepilvastu. One night, the queen of this kingdom, Queen Maya, wife of King Sudodhana, had a dream. She dreamt that she saw a brilliant white light shining down to her from the sky, and in the rays of the light there was a magnificent, pure white elephant. This elephant had six tusks. It flew closer to her and melted into her body. After waking up, she went to the king who in turn asked the wise men the significance of this dream. They told the king that the queen was going to give birth to a great man. In the course of time the queen gave birth to a male child in Lumbini which was on her way to her father’s house. The boy was named Siddharth.
He was very sensitive from the childhood. He was greatly touched by pain, sickness, old age, etc. that we see in our daily lives. His father was quite concerned at his son’s views of life, so he got his son married to a princess of a neighbouring state. Her name was Yashodhara. In the course of time, they had a son who was named Rahula.
One night, Siddharth left the palace in search of truth.
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/guidelines.htm
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1. Objectives
1.1 To teach about the Buddha
To introduce students to the life story of the Buddha in such a way that they will be inspired to feel they can rely on his teachings and follow his example.
1.2 To teach the Dharma
To help students realise that the Dharma is truly unique, a precious gift to us, conducive to personal and collective peace and happiness.
To inspire students to want to find out more about the Dharma, with a motivation of genuine interest rather than for ulterior motives such as material gain or praise.
To awaken, encourage or nourish in students a love of peace and truth for their own sake and a desire to live in a better world, free from suffering, now and in the future.
1.3 To teach about the Sangha (the monastic community)
To help students understand the significance and role of the Sangha and to give them a basic knowledge of the monastic tradition, so deepening their insight into Buddhism.
1.4 To teach the history and culture of Buddhism
To enable students to put Buddhism into its historical context and give them some familiarity with the cultural practices of Buddhism.
2. Teaching Units
The course material, at both primary and secondary level, has been organised into a syllabus and divided into teaching units. This approach has been designed to enable the teacher work systematically through the material. On the other hand the teacher could choose to select items from the course material, using it as a resource kit.
2.1 Primary level - eight units
Buddhist Studies for Primary Students (age 8 to 12 years) contains introductory material. The text is also suitable for children older than 12 years, if they are new to Buddhism.
Each of the eight units is structured around a lesson sheet which includes some or all of the following:
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Material which introduces students to the basic teachings, culture and symbols of Buddhism.
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Links to an Illustrated Biography of the Buddha, with each page including a line drawing (suitable for colouring in) and text; a hard copy A4 size Colouring-in book version of this biography is also available.
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Dialogues based on the Story of the Buddha which can be use as readings or class plays.
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Links to selected teaching stories from the Jataka Tales (stories of the past lives of the Buddha), which can be read in class and discussed.
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Links to a course of seven Guided Meditations for the Classroom, with instructions for the teacher.
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Web multimedia (Flash) multiple-choice questionnaires based on the material in each unit.
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An Activity Box at the end, with links to practical work material, such as gifts to create, audio files (MP3) of Buddhist songs and word puzzles.
2.2 Secondary level - eight units
Buddhist Studies for Secondary Students (age 12 to 18 years) contains the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and expands on the material covered in Buddhist Studies for Primary Students. All teachers are encouraged to select material from these units for additional Dharma instruction of younger children.
Each of the eight units is structured around a lesson sheet which includes some or all of the following:
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Teachings on: the origins and history of Buddhism; principle Buddhist concepts; ethics and morality; women and Buddhism, family and society; the nature of humanity and suffering; devotional practices.
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The study of sacred writings and stories.
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Links to the Life of the Buddha, sixty-four stories with linked exercises.
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Links to Buddhist teaching stories from the Jataka Tales (stories of the past lives of the Buddha).
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Systematic instruction in Insight meditation and Loving-kindness meditation.
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Discussions of contemporary issues: the Buddhist approach to the contemporary world.
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Online research projects where the students are encouraged to research a Buddhist topic on the Internet.
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Web multimedia (Flash) multiple-choice questionnaires based on the material in each unit.
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An Activity Box at the end, with links to additional material and text books which expand on the core material.
3. Teaching Method
Essentially the teaching method should be similar to that of the Buddha, who taught gradually. It should be the same for older and younger children; however for younger children one should use simpler words, simpler contemplations and examples that they can relate to. The units are designed to teach students about the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), by including material on the life story of the Buddha, his fundamental teachings (Dharma) and the history of the Buddhist tradition. All the materials needed for teaching are either within the teaching unit lesson sheets, or connected to them by active links.
4. Classes
4.1 Class structure
Essentially, give no lectures; rather, guide the children to teach themselves. Below is a suggested class structure. For a more detailed description of the class components see below.
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Five minutes silence / Loving-kindness meditation / Mindfulness of Breathing to calm the mind.
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Brief introduction: give aims of the lesson.
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Reading or review of texts assigned for the lesson / viewing a video.
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Discussion of the lesson material. This should be an honest evaluation based on personal experience and observations. Children should be encouraged to use their own judgment, rather than other people’s ideas.
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Additional contemplation (or meditation) practice, if time permits. Students should be given a topic and guided by the teacher.
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Conclusion: summarise the main points of the lesson; review the new concepts; help children to make personal resolutions on what to abandon, what to cultivate or improve.
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Brief instructions for the next week’s lesson.
4.2 Class components
Lesson sheets (one for each unit)
These sheets contain material that will be discussed or practiced in each class. Ideally students should be advised of the content of each lesson one week in advance. In this way:
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Each class will be more effective, as students will already be familiar with the text or topic before the class
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There will be a continuum from one class to another without long breaks, and students will more easily be able to incorporate what they have learnt in their Buddhist classes into their daily life
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The method will be similar to that used in other subjects. Students will develop good study habits and the discipline of preparing for classes and reviewing what they have learnt.
Discussions
Each discussion should be simple, focusing on one subject/phenomenon and using simple examples from students’ daily lives. To support the discussions, teachers should utilise suttas from the Book of Protection (See below, 5.3, Discourses from the Buddhist scriptures).
Contemplations (reflective thinking or meditations)
These are given in the units of study: the primary level has a “Guided Meditations for the Classroom”, with instructions for the teacher; while the secondary level has “The Meditation Class”, which gives systematic instruction on Insight and Loving-kindness meditation. After the meditation students should reflect on their meditation experience (e.g. reflect on the effects of meditation on the mind).
5. Materials
5.1 General texts
- Illustrated Story of the Buddha - an adaptation of A Pictorial Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha by Gunapayuta, J. Hai, Z.A. Lu and Y. F. Lee. Edited for Electronic Publication by Buddha Dharma Education Association, Sydney, Australia.
- Life of the Buddha: Parts 1 & 2 - by Rev. Siridhamma, first published by the Buddhist Missionary Society. Edited for Electronic Publication by Buddha Dharma Education Association, Sydney, Australia.
- The Buddha and his Disciples - by Ven. S. Dhammika, published by the Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society, Singapore.
- Guided Meditation in the Classroom - seven guided meditations, with instruction for teachers. Buddha Dharma Education Association, Sydney, Australia.
- Buddhist Pilgrimage (PDF document) - by Chan Khoon San, Subang Jaya Buddhist Association.
- Textbooks by Buddhist Education Foundation (UK) (PDF document)
Web site: http://www.buddhisteducation.co.uk/
Buddhism Key Stage 1: A Textbook on Buddhism for children aged between 5-7.
Buddhism Key Stage 2: A Textbook on Buddhism for children aged between 7-11.
5.2 Reference texts
Although there are many texts of varying length and depth on Buddhism, to gain a deeper understanding of Buddhism all teachers are encouraged to study the following short but comprehensive texts:
A selection of Mahayana texts and more advanced Theravada texts are available from BuddhaNet’s web site. The texts mentioned above, and many more, are available as PDF documents in BuddhaNet’s eBook Library.
5.3 Discourses from the Buddhist scriptures
Selected discourses from the Book of Protection (Venerable Piyadassi, 1981) are recommended to supplement the lesson material. This text was originally intended for beginners, but at present it is the most well known Buddhist text in Sri Lanka. It contains 10 precepts and a collection of 24 discourses taken from the Nikayas and compiled by the Maha Theras of Sri Lanka.
The discourses selected from the Book of Protection are beginner level discourses and appropriate for older children under the guidance of teachers. Even if students don’t fully understand them, these discourses will give the children insight into Buddhist scriptures.
The First Discourse, Analysis of the Truths and Discourse on Loving-kindness are fundamental. The Jewels Discourse and Banner Protection will help students to understand the qualities of the Buddha and his students. The Blessings Discourse will also help them to understand good qualities to develop.
Mahayana discourses such as the Lotus and Heart Sutras are too advanced for children. The Heart Sutra was not intended for beginners. Hence we feel that the simpler Theravada texts are much more suitable as an introduction to Buddhist scriptures, as at the introductory level the main purpose of the scripture study is to support the core teachings — the life story of the Buddha and the Four Noble Truths. At this level it is not appropriate to present students with a set of discourses representative of both traditions irrespective of their ability to understand them.
Hence Mahayana discourses are not included in the core Buddhist studies for young students. However, Mahayana texts and more advanced Theravada texts are suitable as electives for those students who show deeper interest in the Dharma, and these can be chosen and discussed during the free lessons as teachers feel appropriate.
5.4 Resources for teaching Buddhist History and Culture
While this material is designed for secondary students it could be used for primary students as well, with the assistance of the teacher.
The Buddhist World [ link to contents page ]
An Encyclopaedic Tour of the Buddhist World.
- The monastic community.
- The four holy sites.
- Buddhist pilgrimage.
- Schools of Buddhism.
- Profiles of Theravada and Mahayana countries.
- The spread of Buddhism.
Buddhist history and culture [ link to contents page ]
These links lead to a variety of useful resources provided by BuddhaNet.
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Timelines of Buddhist history: chronological events in the evolution of Buddhism.
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The geographical spread of Buddhism in Asia: a chart showing the spread of Buddhism in Asia.
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An explanation of the schools and lineages of Buddhism.
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Brief biographical details of major Buddhist figures, historical and contemporary.
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Early disciples of the Buddha: pen portraits of some of the eminent disciples of the Buddha.
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Deities and Bodhisattvas: popular Chinese deities.
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Buddhist Art & Architecture: Buddha image, temples, stupas, mandalas, Tibetan art, tangkas, etc.
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Major Buddhist sites: information on the significant historical and pilgrimage sites.
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Scriptures: the Tripitaka [Sanskrit], or Tipitaka [Pali], the three baskets of teachings, is the canon of Buddhists, both in the Theravada and the Mahayana traditions.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQs) on Buddhist culture.
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Festivals and Ceremonies: Buddhist devotional practices.
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Buddhist symbols / iconography.
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Statistics on the numbers of adherents in the major branches of Buddhism.
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A glossary of Buddhist technical terms and Dharma Data, a Buddhist dictionary.
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Selected book list: a reading list to facilitate study in particular areas of Buddhist history.
5.5 Multimedia
- Buddhist Studies for Schools CD-ROM (3nd edition)
This CD-ROM (PC and Mac) is produced by BuddhaNet. It consists of web pages (html files) which be used on an Intranet system. It contains the 8-unit Buddhist Studies for Primary Students, the 8-unit Buddhist Studies for Secondary Students and all the supporting material needed to use these units.
Print-quality PDF files of most of the content are also provided on the CD-ROM. All of the material, including any updates, is also available in the Buddhist Study section of the BuddhaNet web site. Teachers, students and schools are welcome to copy this material, but are asked not to substantially alter it without permission.
- Buddhism on the Internet
This CD-ROM (PC and Mac), is a multimedia interface to the BuddhaNet web site. It contains over sixty PDF documents or e-Books on general Buddhism, meditation and the Buddhist scriptures.
- The Illustrated Dhammapada CD-ROM - with Audio in Pali and English.
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Meditation: Insight and Loving-Kindness CD-ROMs
Two Audio CDs with instruction and guided meditations; a Video tape (with a booklet) demonstrating the postures in sitting, and detail instruction in walking meditation, by Ven. Pannyavaro.
» The above titles can be ordered from the Buddha Dharma Education Association, Sydney Australia.
5.6 Web sites
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http://www.teachers.tv/videos/23141
KS3/4 RE - Teaching RE to Muslim Students: Studying Buddhism
Find out how an RE teacher approaches the study of Buddhism with a Year 8 class of mainly Muslim pupils.
Azam Ali is head of RE at Challenge College in Bradford where most of the students are Muslim. The majority of his students don’t have an issue with learning about other faiths but occasionally students ask why they can’t just learn about Islam.
As a Muslim himself, Azam reminds his Islamic students that their religion is about racial harmony, social harmony, learning about other ideas and cultures and learning about other faiths.
Lord Buddha’s Teaching - A Story
04/11/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
site admin @ 2:31 am
BSP last week in a bid to expose the Congress’ “SC/ST-prem” (love for SC/STs).
LUCKNOW: On Saturday, the ruling party officially released three posters of the BSP related to April 14. The Congress too has come out with a poster for the day. While the BSP poster carries Ms. Mayawati’s picture and those of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, that is, the Great Prabuddha Bharath icons, including Dr. Ambedkar, Mr. Gandhi’s portrait dominates the space in the Congress poster with lesser space given to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. This Congress poster, however, does not carry the pictures of Dr. Ambedkar or any other SC/ST leader.
Describing the Congress as “anti-SC/ST”, the BSP State unit president Swami Prasad Maurya said the Congress was responsible for the extreme poverty and deprivation among the Aboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, that is, the Great Prabuddha Bharath. Referring to the Congress poster, Mr. Maurya slammed the party for ignoring Dr. Ambedkar. He said Dr. Ambedkar had advised his supporters to stay away from the Congress.
In fact, the absence of Dr. Ambedkar’s picture in the Congress poster, which was put up in Ambedkar Nagar, was made an issue by the local unit of BSP last week in a bid to expose the Congress’ “SC/ST-prem” (love for SC/STs). The posters were hastily withdrawn by the Congress.
When contacted, the Congress Yatra in-charge, Faizabad MP Nirmal Khatri, said the posters minus Dr. Ambedkar were put up by some enthusiastic party supporters.
Pushed to the back foot by the Bahujan Samaj Party’s in a bid to regain its SC/ST support base in Uttar Pradesh launch of “Congress Yatra 2010” from Ambedkar Nagar on April 14, the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar is planned.Bahujan Samaj Party is now trying to “expose” its political adversary’s concern for SC/STs.
Apart from celebrating Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, the BSP would stage a State-wide dharna and demonstration on April 14 in protest against the Women’s Reservation Bill.
urn money
Lucknow: A legislator of Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) made two government officials, allegedly demanding bribes in his constituency, confess their crime before the villagers and squat on their haunches while holding their ears to apologise. The legislator on Friday justified his actions.
Mohammad Ghazi, who represents Afzalgarh in Bijnore district, also made the two officials return the bribe to the ten women who had paid them Rs 10,000 each for getting their names included in the list of beneficiaries for Indira Housing Scheme.
“Under the scheme, a poor Dalit was entitled to a free dwelling unit in his village but two village-level officers Ram Gopal Singh and Harpal Singh approached ten women villagers whose names figured in the list of beneficiaries and demanded they shell out Rs 10,000 each,” Ghazi said over telephone from Afzalgarh.
The officials had held back the letters of allotment of houses to these ten women, who made a complaint to the chief development officer when they did not receive their allotment orders.
After failing to get a response from him, they approached the legislator, who summoned both the complainants and the accused officials before him.
“After much cross-questioning, the officials confessed their crime before the village gathering earlier this week. They were made to hold their ears and sit on haunches,” the legislator said.
“They were let off after they called their family members to bring the money that was returned to the complainants,” he added.
Asked if it was fair and legitimate for anyone to adopt what seemed like tribal justice in modern times, Ghazi said: “I see nothing wrong with it. After all, the wrongful act has received instant punishment, while the wronged has got what was due to him.”
Petty politics to raise Aboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, that is, the Great Prabuddha Bharath memorial issue: Maya govt
Lucknow, Apr 5 (PTI) Expressing inability to fund the
Right to Education scheme in the midst of a row over spending for
Aboriginal Inhabitants of Jambudvipa, that is, the Great Prabuddha Bharath memorials, the Mayawati government today hit back saying it was
“petty politics” that every time the Chief Minister raises key issues
“some important people” rake up the memorial issue.
Terming as “unfortunate” the attack on Mayawati for pointing to
practical problems in implemention of the Right to Education act in
the state, state cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said since
the Centre has enacted the law it was the the Centre’s “moral duty to
make arrangements for funds for the purpose”.
04/09/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
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Please visit http://www.tubaah.com/details.php?video_id=135858
for video on SC/ST entrepreneurs: Rags to riches story
Statue of a Elephant in a welcome posture was “not a violation” of the model code of conduct.
New Delhi: Refuting allegations that elephant statues installed in Uttar Pradesh resembled its election symbol, the BSP today told the Election Commission the statue of a pachyderm in a welcome posture was “not a violation” of the model code of conduct.
“These elephants standing in welcome posture are an inalienable part of Indian culture and no parallel could be drawn between the statues standing in welcome posture and the party symbol,” it said in its submission before the EC.
Earlier, three petitions filed before the EC alleged that Mayawati government had deliberately installed several statues of elephants at various memorials for Dalit icons in the state.
The party in its reply also took a dig at the Congress, saying the leaders of the party with its election symbol of ‘hand’ embraces everyone by waving hands.
“Now, the waving hands are nothing but waving hands for the purpose of misappropriation of the national resources for the benefit of political party Congress at the cost of public exchequer,” it charged.
It argued that if its ‘elephant’ is being objected to, then by those standards “the BJP being a national political party cannot be permitted to use ‘lotus’ as its political symbol so as to directly connect it with the religious mythology and affect the mind of the electorate on a permanent basis”.
Talking to reporters after submitting the reply to the EC, BSP general secretary SC Mishra said the petitions seeking to freeze the election symbol of the party was “not maintainable as the points raised by the petitioners are baseless”.
Mishra alleged that “the petitions were not in public interest and were motivated by political parties which were feeling insecure due to BSP’s growing stature”.
He said the EC listened to arguments and has given two weeks time to all the parties involved in the case to file their submissions.
The party submitted that the petition against it should be rejected.
BSP had filed a similar reply before the poll panel in August 2009.
Woman leaders join forces to stall quota bill
Two powerful women joined the ranks of saboteurs of the Women’s
Reservation Bill in its original form, thus torpedoing Congress’ bid
to push the legislation to provide for 33 per cent quota for women in
central and state legislatures during the budget session of
Parliament.
At the end of an all-party meeting convened on Monday by Leader of the
House in the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee to evolve a consensus on the
Bill, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Bahujan Samaj Party
supremo Mayawati made certain suggestions that, in essence, will
jeopardise the fate of the gender empowerment legislation.
At the meeting and outside, Banerjee insisted on a sub-quota for
Muslim women in the Bill, echoing the stand that other opposing
parties such as Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and Lalu
Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal have always taken on the Bill.
Mayawati’s party demanded that instead of invading the already
existing quota for SC/STs in Parliament and state legislatures, the
Bill should provide for quota for Dalit women over and above the
present limit.
The two woman leaders in effect set in motion the process for
derailment of the Bill by respectively joining the demand for minority
quota and, on the BSP’s part, introducing a new element in the already
existing chaos over the Bill.
On behalf of Mayawati, BSP leader Dara Singh Chauhan said: “We will
not be in a position to support the Bill.” He said the BSP believed in
the principle of “jiski jitni hissedari uski utni bhagidari
(reservation should be in proportion to population). ” That meant as
opposed to what is proposed in the Bill, i.e. onethird reservation
even in the seats reserved for SC/STs by rotation, the BSP’s demand is
to let the reserved seats remain untouched and, in the legislation
proposing reservation for women, provide additional reservation to
Dalit women over and above the existing reserved seats.
To mobilise support for its stand, the BSP, fighting a turf war with
the Congress, has decided to hold dharnas across Uttar Pradesh on
Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, its leader in the Lower House said.
In the face of such strident opposition, supporters of the Bill tried
to dwell on alternative ways of finding consensus.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj apparently
witnessed the mood at the meeting and told Mukherjee that it would
perhaps not be such a bad idea to consider alternative ways of pushing
the Bill.
“Why not look at the Election Commission proposal as well?” she
reportedly told Mukherjee.
The EC’s proposal regarding women’s reservation makes it incumbent on
political parties to give one-third tickets to women.
Having let the government know that the BJP is willing to support the
Bill in any form, Swaraj decided to make her position clear publicly
as well. “We support the Bill. We have already said we are opposed to
using marshals in the Lower House and suggested alternative strategies
for its passage. But we are completely opposed to quota within quota.
If the government wants to consider the EC’s proposal, we are open to
it,” said Swaraj.
Swaraj later refuted any suggestion that the BJP was changing its
stand. “What I said today was a reiteration of our stand in the
Standing Committee. There is no change,” she said.
The CPM suggested that if, after the passage of the Bill, the
government brings a proposal to give quotas to minorities, the Left
parties will not oppose it.
Though the CPM has been a staunch supporter of the Bill in its
original form, CPM politburo member Brinda Karat added a new dimension
saying if the government wants to give a subquota for backward Muslim
women, she was okay with it.
She, however, made it clear that if such a measure would lead to
further delay on the Bill, then the party is not for it.
“We have stated our position on the Bill when it came up in the RS.
Our stand remains the same and we will continue to press for the
passage of the Bill in the current session of LS itself,” Karat said.
All these suggestions could effectively mean that the Bill may get
derailed at least in the remaining part of the budget session when
Parliament reconvenes after the recess on April 15. The government, on
its part, maintained that it will convene more all- party meetings to
arrive at a consensus on the Bill.
Congress sources rejected all such demands and ideas saying that they
are “clear attempts at sabotage”. A senior party leader said, “It’s a
can of worms; they are not constructive suggestions.
It is a clear attempt to scuttle the Bill. The nature of objections is
not to let the Bill pass on some pretext or the other.” In the absence
of a consensus -with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD boss Lalu
Prasad and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav sticking to their stand of a
sub-quota for backward and Muslim women and the BSP and the Trinamool
also opposing the Bill in its present form - Mukherjee decided to
convene another meeting to discuss the Bill.
Where the pro-and anti-quota parties stand
Trinamool
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has come out in favour of
sub-quota for minorities in the women’s Bill. She had earlier
abstained during the passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
The government had hoped to persuade her to drop her stand against the
Bill in its present form, but has clearly failed.
RJD, SP, JD(U)
The Yadav troika of the three parties has raised several objections to
stall the Bill.
They argue it will benefit only elite women; want sub- quota for SC/
STs, OBCs and minorities; say the rotation formula will leave only 50%
seats for men; and suggest that instead of reserving seats, it should
be mandatory for parties to give tickets to women.
BSP
It is in favour of a separate quota for SC/ST women over and above the
proposed 33 per cent reservation for women. Party chief Mayawati is
against the provision for reserving only 33 per cent seats for women
in the Lok Sabha and assemblies. She says the reservation should be in
proportion to the population
BJP
It supports the Bill and is against quota within quota. But the party
says it will not support the use of marshals to remove the dissenting
MPs, as the government did in Rajya Sabha.
Sushma Swaraj also said the party could support former CEC MS Gill’s
formula of parties giving tickets to women, marking a shift from its
earlier stand.
CPM
The Left party is a champion of the cause of women’s reservation.
The party supports the Bill in its current form. MP Brinda Karat said
on Monday that the party could consider supporting introduction of
quota within quota if the government came up with a firm proposal, but
at no cost would it accept further delay.
The Congress was stone Hearted for 63 years ! Now they have realise that next Ms. Mayawati will be the next Prime Minister and that there would not be any fund crunch to implement RTE which is the Constitutional Right. If the congress was really interested in implementing the same, they would not have put the burden on the State Government.They are also scared if it is implemented, the untouchables would get educated and empower the SC STs as desired by the father of the Constitution.
[The Buddhist Circle] Congress party- mother of corruption and India’s # 1 enemy
Thursday, 8 April, 2010 12:31 PM
From:
Political Corruption in India: An Analysis
by R. Upadhyay
“I would go to the length of giving the whole congress a decent burial, rather than put up with the corruption that is rampant.” — Mahatma Gandhi May 1939
This was the outburst of Mahatma Gandhi against rampant corruption in Congress ministries formed under 1935 Act in six states in the year 1937. The disciples of Gandhi however, ignored his concern over corruption in post-Independence India, when they came to power. Over fifty years of democratic rule has made the people so immune to corruption that they have learnt how to live with the system even though the cancerous growth of this malady may finally kill it. The recent Tehelka episode surcharged the political atmosphere of the country but it hardly exposed anything, that was unknown to the people of this biggest democratic polity.
Politicians are fully aware of the corruption and nepotism as the main reasons behind the fall of Roman empire, the French Revolution, October Revolution in Russia, fall of Chiang Kai-Shek Government on the mainland of China and even the defeat of the mighty Congress party in India. But they are not ready to take any lesson from the pages of history.
The history of corruption in post-Independence India starts with the Jeep scandal in 1948, when a transaction concerning purchase of jeeps for the army needed for Kashmir operation was entered into by V.K.Krishna Menon, the then High Commissioner for India in London with a foreign firm without observing normal procedure. Contrary to the demand of the opposition for judicial inquiry as suggested by the Inquiry Committee led by Ananthsayanam Ayyangar, the then Government announced on September 30, 1955 that the Jeep scandal case was closed. Union Minister G.B.Pant declared “that as far as Government was concerned it has made up its mind to close the matter. If the opposition was not satisfied they can make it an election issue.” Soon after on February 3,1956 Krishna Menon was inducted into the Nehru cabinet as minister without portfolio.
In 1950, A.D.Gorwala, an eminent civil servant was asked by Government of India to recommend improvements in the system of governance. In his report submitted in 1951 he made two observations: “One, quite a few of Nehru’s ministers were corrupt and this was common knowledge. Two, even a highly responsible civil servant in an official report as early as 1951 maintained that the Government went out of its way to shield its ministers” (Report on Public Administration, Planning Commission, Government of India 1951)
Corruption charges in cases like Mudgal case (1951), Mundra deals (1957-58), Malaviya-Sirajuddin scandal (1963), and Pratap Singh Kairon case (1963) were levelled against the Congress ministers and Chief Ministers but no Prime Minister resigned.
The Santhanam Committee, which was appointed by the Government in 1962 to examine the issue of corruption in its report submitted in 1964 observed: “There is widespread impression that failure of integrity is not uncommon among ministers and that some ministers, who have held office during the last sixteen years have enriched themselves illegitimately, obtained good jobs for their sons and relations through nepotism and have reaped other advantages inconsistent with any notion of purity in public life.”
The following comments of Nehru on the memorandum of charges against Pratap Singh Kairon submitted to the President of India by the non-Communist opposition in Punjab suggest his approach on corruption - “The question thus arises as to whether the chief minister is compelled to resign because of adverse findings on some questions of fact by Supreme Court. The ministers are collectively responsible to the legislature. Therefore, the matter was one, which concerned the assembly. As a rule therefore, the question of removing a minister would not arise unless the legislature expressed its wish by a majority vote.” (Pathology of Corruption by S.S.Gill)
Thus, we find that while Nehru’s tolerance of corruption among his ministers legitimized this malady, his daughter Indira Gandhi institutionalized it by holding both the posts of the Prime Minister and party president. By doing so she was herself controlling the party funds, which gave birth to the money power in politics. The famous V.P.Malhotra (Chief Cashier of State Bank of India) case in which he got a telephone call believing from Indira Gandhi to pay Rs,60 lakhs to one Nagarwal remained a mystery. Corruption cases like Fairfax, HBJ Pipeline, and HDW Submarine deal came up since then. The famous Bofor’s deal is well known. Narsimha Rao was the first Prime Minister being prosecuted in corruption charges. Cases like Rs.2500 crore -Airbus A-320 deal with France involving kickback (1990), Harshad Mehta security scam (1992), Gold Star Steel and Alloys controversy (1992), JMM bribery case, Hawala scam of Rs. 65 crore and Urea scam (1996) also came up during the period of Narsimha Rao Government.
Criminalisation of politics is another facet of corruption. N.N.Vohra, Union Home Secretary in his report (1995) on this issue observed:- “A network of mafias is virtually running a parallel Government pushing the state apparatus into irrelevance. Quoting some ‘DIB’ sources, he added, “….there has been a rapid spread and growth of criminal gangs, armed senas, drug mafias, smuggling gangs and economic lobbies in the country, which have over the years developed an intensive network of contacts with bureaucrats, government functionaries at local level, politicians, media persons and strategically located individuals in non-state sector. Some of these syndicates have also international linkages including the foreign agencies.”
Against the above-discussed historical background of corruption during last fifty years, the only contribution of Tehelka is that the exposure has forfeited the right of the BJP to claim itself to be a party with difference. So long the BJP was in opposition, it was by and large known as a party with moral integrity, but when it aligned with the political leaders with shady background for the sake of power, the malady of corruption infected this party too. Once the moral integrity is compromised it opens the door of corruption. Perhaps the BJP leadership deliberately went for ideological compromise for capturing power at centre. L.K.Advani put the responsibility on middle class when he reacted to a suggestion by an important ex-National Executive member of the party against the “dubious coalition politics”. Advani reportedly said: “ The middle class does not like compromises and tends to be idealistic. At the same time, it is unhappy if we lose power. It wants power as well as ideological integrity. This is the dilemma of the party”. ( Inside BJP by Dr. Jay Dubashi published in Times of India dated March 22,2001). Advani might have philosophised the situation but he cannot escape from the responsibility for the ideological compromise the BJP made for the sake of power.
Corruption is an abstract term. According to World Bank report 1997 abuse of public power for private gains is described as corruption. But this appears to be too simplistic explanation of corruption. In fact it is a multi-faceted evil, which gradually kills a system. A basic conflict between the ethos and system has weakened the Indian polity. The feudal outlook of the ruling class polluted the people’s mindset, which judge the status of an individual on his capability to flout the law to favour them. This is the reason why corruption is no more viewed by people with abhorrence in Indian society. Leaders like Laloo, Jayalalitha, Sukhram and others, who are facing corruption charges, continue to have wide range of people’s support. Transparency, responsiveness, accountability, probity in public life and good governance are now only slogans. The legislature has failed to make the judiciary, executive and even media sensitive to the cause of the common people. The failure of the political leadership to take a principled stand against corruption has clouded the system to the extent that it is now difficult to understand whether the system is alive or dead.
In the present context corruption is so much linked with power that our politicians have adopted a cynical attitude toward political morality. Maneuvering the anti-defection law for electoral politics with the help of both money and muscle power and other unfair means for the sake of power have affected the political morality of all the political parties and as such none of them can claim themselves to be faithful to nation in true sense. It was pathetic to see an excellent orator of congress struggling to brush away the past of the congress in the recent “Big fight” programme of Star TV.
The collapse of the Janata Party Government (1977-80), fall of V.P.Singh and Chandrashekhar Government (1990-91), turning his minority Government into majority by Narsimha Rao, split in Telugu Desam Party (1994), defection of Ajit Singh with his supporters to Congress (1993), defection of S.S.Vaghela from BJP, maneuvering defection by Kalyan Singh to keep the BJP led Government in power in UP are some of examples to prove that a sizeable number of our politicians are not immune to corruption.
In view of high moral stand being taken by the corrupt politicians of congress party against the legitimate and fully legalized expenditure( sanctioned by state legislature) done by Uttar Pradesh government on erecting the memorials of the ”Greatest Social Revolutionaries of India” (which the jaundised bramhnist media and political parties call dalit icons), it is a time to do reality check of the corrupt bramhnist parties like congress and bjp. The quantum of money which BSP government spent on memorials must be a small fraction of kick backs that must be getting credited daily to the swiss accounts of Sonia Gandhi , Rahul Gandhi and all other corrupt politicians of congress and the bureaucrats under their command. Who is going to investigate into the ill gotten properties of these ruling bigwigs of Congress led by Sonia ? The all investigating agencies like CBI, Income Tax deptt., IB, etc. are at their feet ready to serve them as their obedient servants. The whole judicial system is controlled by them. How will common Indians ever come to know whose money Rs70 Lac Crores it is that is lying in secret swiss bank accounts ?
04/03/10
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The Path of purification By Samatha-Bhavana
1. Samatha-Bhavana (concentration meditation.)
There are 40 meditation subjects.(Or sevenfold meditation subjects)
( Out of 40 meditation objects for samatha bhavana, One can choose any meditation subjects according to one’s appropriate caritas - behavior )
1) 10 Kasinas
2) 10 kinds of foulness (Asubha)
3) 10 recollections (Anussati)
4) 4 Divine Abodes ( Brahma vihara)
5) One perception of loathsomeness in food (Ahare patikula sanna)
6) One analysis of the four elements (dhatu vavatthana)
7-10) 4 immaterial states ( Aruppa)
Ten Kasina are as follows -
1 - Earth kasina (pat hta vi- kasina)
2 - Water kasina (Apo- kasina)
3 - Fire kasina ( Tejo- kasina)
4 - Air kasina (Vayo- kasina)
5 - Blue kasina (Nila- kasina)
6 - Yellow kasina (Pita- kasina)
7 - Red kasina (Lohita- kasina)
8 - White kasina (Odata- kasina)
9 - Space kasina (Akasa- kasina) or limited space kasina
10 - Light kasina (Aloka-kasina)
The Ten kinds of Foulness(Asubha)
The Ten kinds of Foulness are corpse in different stages of decay.
According to Visuddhimagga, each of these meditation subjects is best suited for meditators who are attached in particular ways to their own or others bodies.
They are especially recommended for removing sensual desire.
1 - The bloated (unpleasantly swollen) corpse ( Uddhu mataka )
2 - The livid (blue-grey) corpse (Vinilaka)
3 - The festering (forming pus) corpse (Vipubbaka)
4 - The dismembered (cut up or torn apart) corpse (Vicchiddaka)
5 - The eaten corpse (Vikkhayitaka)
6 - The scattered- in- pieces corpse (Vikkhittaka)
7 - The hacked (cut up in uneven pieces) and scattered or a mutilated and scattered -in-pieces corpse (Hatavikkhittaka)
8 - The bleeding or bloody corpse (Lohitaka)
9 - The worm-infested corpse (puluvaka, pulavaka)
10 -The skeleton (Atthika)
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The Ten kinds of Recollections (Anussati)
1 - the recollection of the Buddha (Buddha nussati)
2 - the recollection of the Dhamma ( Dhamma nussati)
3 - the recollection of the Sangha (Sangha nussati)
4 - the recollection of morality (sila nussati)
5 - the recollection of generosity (Caga nussati)
6 - the recollection of the Devas or deitites (Devata nussati)
7 - the recollection of peace (Upasama nussati)
8 - the recollection of death (Marana nussati)
9 - the mindfulness of the body ( kaya gata nussati)
10 - the mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati)
1- the recollection of the Buddha (Buddha nussati)
It means mindfulness with the Buddha’s special qualities or virtues of the Buddha as the meditation subject.
THE VIRTUES OF THE BUDDHA
In pali,
Itipi so bhagava ——– The Buddha , indeed, is the Blessed one
1) Araham
2) Samma sam buddho
3) Vijja carana sampanno
4) Sugato
5) Lokavidu
6) Anuttaro purisa damma sarathi
7) Sattha de va manussanam
8) Buddho
9) Bhagava
1) Araham (Accomplished)
According to Visuddhimagga-Atthakatha, Araham has five definitions.
1. Araham - The Buddha possesses extraordinary moral conduct, concentration, wisdom, emancipation from all mental defilements and the knowledge about how to be freed from all mental defilements.
2. Araham - Having cleansed Himself of 1500 kilesa ( mental defilements) including inate habits and inclinations.
3. Araham - Having eliminated all internal enemies that are mental defilements rooted in lobha (greed), dosa (hatred) and moha (ignorance).
4. Araham - Already liberated from samsara ( the round of rebirth).
5. Araham - Having sought no place to hide, as always pure both in front of others and behind others’ back.
The Buddha is uprooted or completely free from all mental defilements such as conceit, envy, deception, meanness, hypocrisy etc.
He is the venerable Buddha deserving of special worship by people, celestial beings and all living beings.
2) Samma sam buddho (perfectly self enlightened)
The Buddha knows the Four Noble Truths correctly without a teacher but by his own mental strength and investigation. Because of his unlimited wisdom and knowledge, the Buddha is worthy of honor.
3) Vijja-carana sampanno
(endowed with wisdom and excellent conduct)
The Buddha endowed with 3 special knowledges called “ vijja”.
8 kinds of special knowledge and the 15 kinds of conduct or essential practices called “carana”
What are 3 kinds special knowledge?— (Tisso vijja)
1) The knowledge capable of recollecting past lives or former existences. ( pubbe ni vasa nussati nyanam. vijja )
2) The knowledge capable of seeing the decease (death) and rebirth of beings. (sattanam cutupapate nyanam. vijja )
3) The knowledge capable of eradicating defilements.
(Asavanam khaye nyanam. vijja)
What are 8 kinds of knowledge?—- (Attha Vijja)
1) Knowledge of attaining insight (Vippassana nana)
(The Buddha knows “my body is material , made from four great elements, and this is my consciousness which is bound to it and dependent on it ”.
2) Knowledge of supernormal power of the mind - made body. (Manomayiddhi nana)
3) Having various supernormal powers. (Iddhividha nana)
He becomes one, becomes many, appears and disappear, He passes through fences, walls, mountains unhindered as if through air; He sinks into the ground and emerges from it as if it were water, He walks on the water without breaking the surface as if on land. He flies cross-legged through the air like a bird with wings. He travels in the body as far as the Brahma world.
4) Having the divine ear (Dibbasota nana)
He can hear sounds both divine and human whether far or near.
5) Knowledge of others’ mind.( Cetopariya nana)
Understanding the ways of others’ thought.
6) Knowledge of previous existences (Pubbenivasa nussati nana) (The rememberance of one’s former state of existence)
7) Having the divine eyes or knowledge of the passing –away and arising of beings.(Dibbacakkhu nana)
He sees beings passing-away and arising; inferior and superior; well-favoured and ill-favoured, to happy and unhappy destinations as kamma directs them.
8) Knowledge of eradicating defilements. (Asavakkhaya nana)
What are the 15 kinds of good conduct or Carana? namely :
1 - morality, restraint by virtue ( Sila samvara )
2 - restraint on 6 senses ( looking, listening, scents and flagrances, tasting, bodily contact and thinking), (Indriyesu guttadvarata )
3 - moderation in eating, (Bhojane mattannuta)
4 - vigilance,Devotion to wakefulness (Jagariyanuyoga)
(5-11) satta Saddhamma = the seven good states
5 - (Saddha) = faith, confidence
6 - ( Hiri ) = moral shame (shame of wrong - doing)
7 - (Ottappa) = moral dread (fear of wrong - doing)
8 - (Bahussuta) = great learning,
9 - (Araddhaviriya) = Energy, industriousness
10 - (Upatthitassati) = mindfulness, concentration
11 - (Panna) = wisdom, and
12-15 - four jhana of the non-material sphere.(Cattari Rupavacarajhanani)
For the four aeons and one hundred thousand world cycles, throughout innumerable lives the Buddha sought for the well-being of mankind and he practice the 10 parami or ten noble wholesome deeds, namely
(1) charity,
(2) morality,
(3) renunciation,
(4) wisdom,
(5) industriousness,
(6) tolerance,
(7) truthfulness,
(8) resolve,
(9) loving-kindness and
(10) equanimity and the five great sacrifices (giving up his wealth, limbs, eyes and life for the well-being of other people) which lead to Omniscience. So the Buddha is worthy of honor.
4) Sugato (talking useful and truthful words)
The Buddha’s speech is only true, correct, beneficial and welcome and agreeable to others.
Some occasions the Buddha use the speech which is true, correct, beneficial but unwelcome and disaggreable to others.
He is the Vernerable Buddha.
5) Lokavidu (knower of worlds)
The Buddha has known the world in all ways.
He has knowledge of all existences. He can perceive the nature of all beings, planes and phenomena. He knows all the past, present and future lives of beings as well as their temperament.
There are 3 kinds of worlds.
1- The world of formations (sankhara- loka)
2- The world of beings (satta-loka)
3- The world of location (Okasa-loka)
6) Anuttaro purisa damma sarathi
(peerless tamer or the incomparable leader of men to be tamed)
The Buddha is the incomparable leader or master of men to be tamed.
The Buddha could not train or help everyone with his teaching. It depends on the spiritual maturity of the individual. Noblest and unrivaled in being able to admonish, guide and reform those in need.
7) Sattha de va manussanam
(teacher of celestial and human beings)
He is the genuine, noble teacher of people and celestial beings.
The Buddha teaches how to live, how to practice meditation in order to be released from the cycle of suffering. He knows how to guide one toward the wholesome path to peace. He is able to solve the problems which could not be solved by anyone else. Then he enlightens others. He often stresses the loathsome aspects of life. He not only teaches detachment from the world but also gives many instructions on how to live happily and purely, how to relate to others, how not to judge a person, how to make an honest livelihood etc. On the other hand, deities and human beings merely come to Him for counsel or advice and teaching, thus He is their teacher.
8) Buddho
(knowing of four noble truths and Enlightened one)
The Budda, Omniscience, has discovered the Four Noble Truths by himself and awakened others.
There are 3 kinds of understanding:
a) based on thinking
b) based on learning from others
c) based on mental development which has reached the stage of full concentration. It is by the last of these that the Buddha knows the Four Noble Truths. There is no knowledge beyond the Noble Truths because all phenomena fall within their scope.
The Four Noble Truths
1) The truth of Suffering
2) The truth of the Cause of suffering
3) The truth of the Cessation of suffering
4) The Eightfold noble path leading to the cessation of suffering.
The Buddha said “all things have their causes” and he has shown the cause and the way leading to its cessation.
9) Bhagava
( Blessed with six special qualities)
Those special qualities are
1 - (Issariya) = Control over his mind, Lordship
2 - (Dhamma) = Nine supra-mundane attributes.
(attainment of the four path and the four fruits and to Nibbana)
3 - (yasa) = Good disciples, fame
4 - (siri) = Glory
5 - (kama) = The wish to further the welfare of all beings
6 - (payatta) = Untiring energy, endeavor
So He is called the Blessed One.
The Benefits of Recollecting the Special Qualities of the Buddha
By recollecting the Virtues of the Buddha, the mind will not be invaded by evil roots such as greed, hatred, and delusion. When one continually practices applied and sustained thoughts upon the Buddha’s special qualities , happiness arises in him or bodily bliss and mental bliss arise in him. When he is blissful, his mind becomes concentrated on the Buddha’s special qualities as its object, thus Jhana factors eventually arise in a single moment.
In addition, One attains an abundance of faith, of mindfulness, of understanding, and of merit. One will have much happiness, overcomes fear and dread, able to bear pain and will come to feel as if he were living in the Buddha’s presence.
2 - the recollection of the Dhamma
Dhammanussati means the recollection of the virtues of the Dhamma.
Dhamma is the Buddha’s teaching which is endowed with six attributes.
THE VIRTUES OF DHAMMA
In Pali
1) Svakkhato Bhagavata Dhammo
2) Sanditthiko
3) Akaliko
4) Ehipassiko
5) Opaney yi ko
6) Paccattam Veditabbo Vinnuhi
1- Svakkhato Bhagavata Dhammo
(Well proclaimed by the Blessed one)
The Dhamma which is well proclaimed by the Blessed One, consists of the Scriptural Dhamma (Pariyatti Dhamma) and the Ninefold Supramundane Dhamma.(Nava Lokkuttara Dhamma) It is good in the beginning, in the middle and in the end because it declares the life of purity that is absolutely perfect and pure with the meaning and with detail.
The Scriptural Dhamma is also known as (Tipitaka) three baskets.
1 - The Basket of Discipline (Vinaya-pitaka)
2-The Basket of Discourses (Suttanta-pitaka)
3-The Basket of higher doctrine (Abdhidhamma-pitaka)
The Ninefold Supramundane Dhamma is
1 - the Fourfold Noble Path = Supramundane wholesome Dhamma (The Path of stream-entry, once returning, non returning and Arahantship).
2 -The Fourfold Fruition = Supramundane resultant Dhamma (Fruition of stream-entry, once returning, non returning and Arahantship)
3 - and Nibbana ( the end of all suffering, mind and matter are absolutely extinguished)
The practice of Dhamma should follow the middle way leading to Nibbana without approaching the two extremes, (1) addiction to sensual pleasures and (2) self- modification.
From the time of his supreme Enlightenment until passing away (attaining Parinibbana), a period of 45 years, the Buddha preached many discourses.
They were enumerated in the following order.
1 - (Dana-katha) The subject of Charity
2 - (Sila-katha) The subject of Morality
3 - (Sagga-katha) The subject of heavenly beings
4 - (Magga-katha) The subject of different levels of insight knowledge which exposes the disadvantages of sensual pleasures and advantages of freedom from all kinds of mental defilements.
None of his teaching is concerned with animosity, revenge, selfishness, racism or religious prejudice. No one can find any fault with his teaching. No reason to reject his teachings.
Because of the Dhamma is proclaimed well and completely, whenever anyone hears any part of his teaching,
- one does not long for the talk of others .
- one becomes elated , serene of mind and happy .
- one’s grief, lamentation, suffering, sorrow and despair vanish and
- one’s woe and fatigue are wholly allayed.
2) Sanditthiko
(Dhamma realised by Oneself)
The Dhamma gives many advantages not only after death, but also in this very life.
The Buddha emphasized the danger of unwholesome deeds and the merit of wholesome deeds.
All his teachings can be condensed into the fact that there is only cause and effect.
The Dhamma which is realised by oneself is the Noble Path. It can be seen by the Noble person who has done away with greed, hate, delusion in his own continuity.Furthermore, the Dhamma, which is realised by oneself, is also the Ninefold Supramundane through his reviewing knowledge without relying on faith in another.
3) Akaliko (Immediate Result)
(The Dhamma which is followed by its fruition without delay)
The Dhamma which gives immediate result, is the Supramundane Path because it is immediately followed by its own fruition or the Supramundane Fruition.
There are 5 hinderances: (1) sensual desire (2) ill-will (3) sloth and stupor (4) remose and worry and (5) doubt.They obstruct the heart and weaken insight knowledge.
To free from these hinderances, there is no simple way other than by meditation.
The more our insight meditaion matures, the more we will understand the teachings of the Buddha. After its own arising or reaching the supramundane path, one does not need to wait to get the fruition. Fruition will result immediately.
4) Ehipassiko (Come and See)
The Dhamma which is worthy of the invitation to ” come and see”, is Supramundane Path, Fruition and Nibbana.
The Buddha never encouraged blind faith and speculation. He always encouraged people to make inquiry into all teachings and sayings as do not believe anything without sound reasons. But when you yourself know things are good, praised by the wise ; things lead to benefit and happiness, you should undertake and observe them.
Invoking , praying , hoping and praising will not help,
but come and practice and you will see the Supramundane Path, Fruition and Nibbana as pure as the full moon’s disk in a cloudless sky.
5) Opaney yi ko
(Leading onto Nibbana)
All of the Buddha’s teachings lead towards Nibbana.
What is Nibbana?
People wrongly think as Nibbana is a place or a plane of existence. It cannot be seen by the eyes but it can be known by the mind only through the knowledge of the noble path (Magga Nyana). The way to attain that knowledge is only by following the Eightfold Noble Path diligently and intelligently.
Once a person has realized Nibbana he will never again land in the four lower worlds. If he attains at least the first stage of the path (Sotapatti magga), he will, from then on, be born at most seven times in the human world or in higher Deva and Brahma realms.
6) Paccattam Veditabbo Vinnuhi
(Dhamma which is realised by the wise each for oneself.)
The ninefold Supramundane state can be only experienced by the noble one.
One practices the Eightfold Noble path diligently and intelligently, one will attain Supramundane path and Nibbana by one’s own effort. No one can pass on or share the Supramundane results to another.
Even the Buddha can only explain the way to attain it.
It is up to each individual to follow that way to be a noble one.
It is more important to practice the Dhamma than to worship the Buddha. The wiser a person tries to practice the Dhamma, the more he will get happiness.
The Buddha said to a Bhikkhu (Monk)
“It will be of no use to you merely to look at my face. You must practice insight meditation; for indeed only the one who sees the Dhamma, sees me, one who does not see the Dhamma, does not see me; So you should leave my presence.
To comprehend the Dhamma, a person should practice meditation.
The Benefit of the Recollection of the special Qualities of the Dhamma.
As much as someone recollects the virtues of the Dhamma,
- the mind is not invaded by lust, hate and delusion.
- all hinderances are suppressed.
- the Jhana is attained up to access (Upacara) without reaching absorption(Appana)
Upacara = the condition of concentration just before entering any of the absorption.
Appana = the condition of concentration existing during absorption.
- one is more respectful and deferential towards the Buddha who teaches the Dhamma.
- one attains fullness of faith and has much happiness and gladness, he overcomes fear and dread, he is able to bear pain and comes to feel as if he were living in the Dhamma’s presence.
- His mind has a tendency towards the realization of imcomparable Dhamma and he has a strong awareness of conscience and shame on doing unwholesome deeds.
If he comprehends no higher, he will be at least born in a happy state.
Dharma is something to be practiced , studied or memorized.
The Dharma will benefit us only when we seriously practice it.
3. Recollection of the Sangha
Sanghanussati means the recollection of the virtues of the Sangha. Sangha is the Buddha’s disciple which is endowed with nine attributes.The word sanga literally means “congregation” or “community”. It is generally used for the order of monks. However, the sangha, has a different meaning in connection with the third Gem we take our refuge in, is the “ariyan Sangha”.
Ariya sangha or noble person is the name which denotes all those who have attained one of the four stages of enlightenment, no matter whether they are monks, nuns, unmarried lay followers or married lay followers.
How can we find out an ariyan ?
There is no way to know who is an ariyan, unless we have become enlightened ourselves. It cannot be known from someone’s outward appearance whether he is a noble person or not, but can judge from his words with good knowledge and by listening carefully/.
We can take our refuge in the ariyan sangha even if we do not personally know any ariyans. We can recollect the virtues of the ariyans, no matter whether they are in this plane of existence or in other planes.
We can take our refuge in the Sangha also we pay respect to the monks, no matter whether they are ariyans or not , because the goal of monkhood is to apply what the Buddha taught in order to realize the truth and to try to help other people as well to realize the truth.
Study Dhamma
The noble disciples – they are the treasurers and the protectors of the Dharma, they study it, practice it and teach it to others. This is how the tradition continues. So the Sangha plays a primary role in the preservation and spread of the Dhamma. Due to the effort and sacrifice of the Sangha, we still have a relatively easy access to the Buddha’s teaching today over 2500 years after the Great Demise.
Duties of Sangha are to practice the Dhamma well and propagate the teaching of the Buddha.
Monks are doing their duty in community like
- Tell people not to do any evil
- Encourage them to do good
- Treat people with loving-kindness
- Teach the Dhamma
One should not do any wrong to monks ( ariyan or ordinary monks who are old or young) even if one cannot pay respect to them.
refuge to young monks refuge to old monk
The followers should minister to good religious teacher as to the zenith by kindly deeds, by kindly words, by kindly thoughts, by keeping doors open for them, and by offering their needs.
THE VIRTUES OF SANGHA
1) Suppatipanno bhagavato savakasangho (practice well)
2) Ujupathipanno bhagavato savakasangho (practice correctly)
3) Nyayapatipanno bhagavato savakasangho (practice wisely)
4) Samicipatipanno bhagavato savakasangho (practice respectably)
Yadidam cattari purisa yugani attha purisapuggala Esa bhagavato savakasangho
5) Ahuneyyo (worthy of offerings)
6) Pahuneyyo (worthy of Hospitality)
7) Dakkhineyyo (worthy of Gift)
8) Anjalikaraniyo (Worthy of Reverence)
9) Anuttaram punnakkhettam lokassa (the finest field of merit in the world)
1) Suppatipanno (practice well)
The Good (right) way the Sangha has practiced.
The task of the sangha is to put the teaching of the Buddha into practice and to preach to others.
2) Ujuppathipanno (practiced correctly)
Following the Middle path without deceit and avoiding two extremes,a monk practices correctly the way leading to higher knowledge.
(Two extremes are the constant attachment to Sensual Pleasures and the constant addiction to Self-Mortification),
Most people always pursue sensual pleasures assuming that the best way to get happiness but it is only short-lived. As soon as a person obtains the object he desires, he wants something else. He is like a thirsty person who has drunk salty water. In the effort to get pleasures, he has to suffer many hardships and disappointments. So, realizing this danger, monks do not pursue sensual pleasures.
The Buddha gave the following guidelines on how to size up a person by his words.
An ignoble person possesses the following 4 traits.
A noble person possesses the opposite of four traits.
Back biting and gossiping people are not noble persons.
1) A man says what is discreditable about others even when he is not asked. If he gets a chance to speak, he utters faults of another in full and in detail without reserve.
2) He does not say other’s credit even when asked and let alone if unasked. When he has to speak he utters praise grudgingly and in brief.
Persons who are praising themselves are not noble persons.
3) He does not admit what is discreditable about himself even when asked let alone if unasked. When he has to speak, he admits his faults grudgingly with reservations and equivocation.
4) He says what is creditable about himself even when not asked. When he gets a chance to speak, he sings his own praises to the full and without reserve.
So ignoble persons do not respect the Dhamma and are greedy to possess great wealth and influence.
A noble person always see his defect and admits his mistake and resolves not to do it again. So this honesty and straight-forwardness is an attribute of the Ariya sangha.
An ordinary monk might pretend to be a noble person because of his desire for fame and wealth but,
scrupulous monk will never do that because he knows that people often get into trouble through such deceit.
The Buddha admonished the monks ”A monk should be calm and well restrained in thought, word and deed”.
So sangha are worthy of reverence.
3) Nyayapatipanno (practiced wisely)
Monks are practicing for the realization of inner peace and are able to freely practice the Eightfold path which leads to Nibbana.
Lay people’s life is very busy, not able to practice the Eightfold path so freely as a monk. Usually lay people have no wish to gain mundane welfare but wish to gain their wealth in this life. The defilements which have been accumulated are very deeply rooted but can be eliminated gradually by concentration meditation and insight meditation.
The reasons sangha have joined the Buddha’s Order of Monks are
- to be free from all mental defilements
- try to do meritorious deeds and
- not to enjoy sensual pleasures which are the cause of grief, sorrow, lamentation and despair.
- having realized the 4 universal truth as follows
i. All beings are impermanent, they all subject to decay and death.
ii. They have no refuge and no protection. They alone have to suffer.
iii. All beings are not the owners of their own wealth. One has to pass away with empty hands.
iv. All beings are unsatisfied with wealth and sensual pleasure.
So monks practice wisely as what we call my “body” are only physical phenomena, rupas, which arise and fall away and which we cannot control.
The same is said about mental phenomena. What we call “my mind” are only mental phenomena, namas, which arise and fall away and which are beyond control. There is no self who can direct them.
Practicing as everything is impermanent, suffering and not self.
Then ,wisdom and stages of insight are attained during the development of vipassana and attain stages of enlightenments.
4) Samicippatipanno (practiced respectably)
The Buddha taught that it is proper to pay respect to elders and to those of superior morality such as monks and nuns.
Monks dedicate their whole life to the practice of the Buddha’s teachings to get rid of mental defilement. One can root out the mental defilement by knowing correctly the real nature of mind and matter. Monks have to practice morality, tranquility and insight meditation to know correctly about the real nature of mind and matter, so the monks are worthy of respect even if he is not an Ariya.
The Buddha constantly reminds his disciples and prescribed the monk’s ascetic appearance like following -
· - with simple yellow robes which are made from rags from the rubbish heap and colored with bark dye (nowadays, factory-made robes are used but the appearance has not changed much).
· - a shaven head not to cherish their hair and to keep away from an attractive style and (A monk is not allowed to keep hair more than two finger-widths long)
· - monk is not allowed to follow the changing fashion.
· - to make the monks humble and not to become conceited
· - to depend entirely on others and the support of lay people with no other source of income.
- to accept whatever is offered and cannot ask (unless invited or ill ) for what they need, except from their relatives.
· - to have good morality, tranquility and wisdom to provide maximum benefit for devotees from their offerings.
· - to teach lay people by giving opportunity for refuge to triple gem and to realize the Four Noble truth.
So the monk is deserving reverence and offerings.
When wisdom has been developed to the degree that conditioned realities are clearly understood as they are, as impermanent, dukkha(suffering) and anatta(non-self), there can be enlightenment.
cattari purisa yugani = Four Pairs of Persons (Ariya Noble sangha)
Four Pairs of Persons are as follows
1. Stream Entry — the first pair of the one who stands on the first path (satapatti-megga) and the one who stands in the first fruition (sotapatti-phala).
2. Once-Returner — the second pair of the one who stands on the second path (sakadagami-megga) and the one who stands in the second fruition.(sakadagami-phala)
3. Non-Returner —the third pair of the one who stands on the third path (anagami-megga) and the one who stands in the third fruition (anagami-phala).
4. Arahant —- the fourth pair of the one who stands on the fourth path (arahatta-megga) and the one who stands in the fourth fruition (arahatta-phala).
attha purisapuggala = The eight kinds of individuals
The eight kinds of individuals are the four persons who stand on the four paths and the four persons who stand in the four fruitions.
5) Ahuneyyo (worthy of offerings)
Worthy of gifts the Sangha has ( the four requisites ) which are brought even from far away because it makes this offering bear great benefit.
Four requistes are - the robes, alms food, medicine, and lodging.
The reputation of virtuous (the morality, tranquility and wisdom ) of noble monks can spread far and wide and can even reach the Brahma and Heavenly beings world, they come to offer alms-food to noble monks. If a person offers alms to a noble monk who has just arisen from absorption in Nibbana, he can get whatever he wishes for immediately.
The Buddha enumerated 14 grades of offerings
An offering to
1 - the Buddha
2 - a Pacceka-buddha who is enlightened but cannot preach to others.
3 - an Arahant
4 - one striving for Arahantship
5 - a non-returner
6 - one striving for non-returning
7 - once-returner
8 - one striving for once-returning
9 - a stream-winner
10 - one striving for stream-winning
11 - One outside the Buddha’s teaching who is detached from sensual pleasures.
12 - an ordinary person of moral habit.
13 - a person of poor moral habit.
14 - an animal.
The Buddha told as the offering to individuals is still less than the fruit of offering to the sangha, however, dedicating the offering to the Sangha Order, the result will be more and too great to measure.
To have greater benefit, the one’s offering should dedicate to Sangha, the order, rather than a gift to individuals.
6) Pahuneyyo (worthy of Hospitality)
Worthy of hospitality the Sangha has.
Noble monks can be seen only when people live during the Buddha’s Sasana. Whenever noble monks meet people, they promote their merit and guide them how to conduct themselves well, how to gain release from suffering, how to choose good friends, how to associate with each other etc.
People tend to keep good things for visitors and friends who visit them occasionally. These visitors may give some pleasure and aid to them in worldly affairs. However, offerings something to a monk or a noble monk will accumulate a great deal of merit. So monks are worthy of Hospitality more than that of visitors.
7) Dakkhineyyo (worthy of Gifts)
Worthy of offerings the Sangha has.
The Buddha assured that the offerings based on loving –kindness, compassion, respect or belief in kamma and rebirth will give much fruit in this very life and in the future life.
There are 4 different kinds of offerings.
1. there is the offering purified by the donor but not by the recipient.
( donor has morality and good character but recipient has poor morality and evil character) This offering does not give great results.
2. There is the offering purified by the recipient but not by the donor.
(The recipient has moral habit and good character but donor has poor morality and evil character). This offering does not give great results too.
3. There is the offering purified by neither the donor nor the recipient.(This offering is of least benefit.)
4. There is the offering purified by both the donor and the recipient. (This offering produces the most benefit of all.)
The Buddha said that proper and pure offerings can produce benefit.
To get immediate benefit, the offering must be endowed with 4 conditions.
- The perfection of the person receiving the alms: i.e He must be an Arahant or Anagami)
- The perfection of Generosity: the donor must feel happy for his offering before, during and after giving it.
- The perfection of the alms given: i.e They must be obtained by lawful means.
- The perfection of the dignity of the offering.
8) Anjalikaraniyo( Worthy of Reverence)
Worthy of reverential salutation the Sangha has.
If a ordinary monk is endowed with five factors:
· Believes in the enlightenment of the Buddha.
· Has good health and digestion.
· Is not deceitful.
· Sustains vigorous effort to root out the mental defilement.
· Is endowed with insight into the impermanence of things.
He will soon attain Arahantship. So the ordinary monk is also worthy of reverence.
Monks have to practice a lot of rules to be worthy of the people’s reverence. If a monk fails to follow the monastic discipline, his life becomes a burden of guilt. Therefore the Buddha constantly admonished his disciples to conduct themselves so that they would be worthy of respect.
The Buddha explained as to lie down beside of great mass of fire would be better for a monk than to lie down beside a beautiful lady because fire might cause the monk harm or even death but he would not, because of that, go down to hell. If the monk were to lie down beside a beautiful lady, his morality would easily break and his immorality would cause his birth in hell after death.
The Buddha encourages as monks must develop their morality, tranquility and wisdom while using the donors’ four requisites ( the robes, alms food, medicine and lodging), those offerings should become very fruitful, very profitable for the donors .In this way, all Buddha’s disciples should strive earnestly for the good of both self and others and practice the monastic rules. So they are worthy of reverence.
9) Anuttaram punnakkhettam lokassa
(the finest field of Merit in the world)
The unsurpassed field of merit for the world. Or It is the place for growing the whole world’s merit.
Giving offerings is like farming. To get a bountiful crop, there are several necessary factors ( good mature seeds, sufficient water, fertile soil, a knowledgeable farmer, protection from pests etc.) In the same way, for an offering to be beneficial a donor must have faith, generosity, wisdom, joy and must offer his donation to a virtuous recipient.
There are more benefit of offering to monks, nuns and yogi who are striving for the fruit of stream-winning or higher attainments than the benefit of offering to animals and those with low morality.
When someone offers something to a noble monk, he will accumulate a great deal of merit.
Now we have a very precious opportunity to offer alms to virtuous monks, to observe the precepts and to practice insight meditaion because of holy monks who are maintaining the teachings of the Buddha and trying to propagate the Dhamma to lay people.
what is the benefit of recollecting the special qualities of the Sangha?
By recollecting virtues of Sangha, one’s mind is invaded neither by lust, nor by hate, nor by delusion.One could attain faithfulness and have much happiness and gladness. He overcomes fear and dread. He is able to bear pain and comes to feel as if he were living in Sangha’s presence. He might have a strong awareness of conscience and on recollecting the well-regulatedness of the Sangha. By recollecting virtures of Sangha, the hindrances have been surpassed and Jhana-factors arise in a single moment. The Jhana is only access without reaching absorption. One will be at least born in a happy state.
4 - RECOLLECTION OF MORALITY ( SILA NUSSATI)
the practice of mindfully recollecting the special qualities of morality.
5 - RECOLLECTION OF GENEROSITY (CAGA NUSSATI)
the practice of mindfully recollecting the special qualities of free generosity.
6 - RECOLLECTION OF THE DEVAS OR DEITITES ( DEVATA NUSSATI)
the recollection of Devas or deities with the special qualities of one’s own faith.
7- RECOLLECTION OF PEACE (UPASAMA NUSSATI)
the recollection arisen, inspired by peace is a term for mindfulness that has as its object ceasing ( cessation) of all suffering.
embryo
after birth - infant
getting older to adolescent
getting older older every second
every second - everything is changing
( Nothing is permanent )
can die any age ( young or death)
everyone has to go through Birth, aging, sickness and death.
8 - RECOLLECTION OF DEATH ( MARANA NUSSATI )
Death – mindfulness exercise should be practiced wisely in this way
After birth, all youth ends in ageing, all health ends in sickness, all life ends in death.
Death should be recollected by comparison in 7 ways.
1 - with those of great fame.(eg. This death assuredly came upon all great kings with great fame, great retinue and enormous wealth) why will it not come upon me also?
2 - With those of great merit (eg. All persons with great merit in the world and all went to the realm of death. What can be said of those like me? )
3 - With those of great strength (eg. All persons with great strength in the world and all to death. What can be said of those like me?)
4 - With those of great supernormal power (eg. All persons with great supernormal power in the world but all feel in the mouth of death too. What can be said of those like me?
5 - With those of great understanding (eg.Sariputta, the first chief disciple,fell into death too. What can be said of those like me?)
6 - With Pacceka Buddhas (eg.Pacceka Buddhas who crashed all the enemy defilements by the strength of their own knowledge and energy and reached Pacceka Buddhahood or enlightenment for themselves and were self-perfected, were still not free from death. How should I be free from it?)
7 - With fully Enlightened Buddhas.(eg. The Blessed One,who has His body adorned with the eighty minor signs and variegated with the thirty-two major signs of a great man, who has the Dhamma-body fulfilled with the treasured qualities of the aggregates of virtue, etc; pure in every aspect, who overpassed greatness of fame, of merit, of strength, of supernormal power, and of understanding ,who had no equal, who was the equal of those without equal, without double, accomplished and fully enlightened, was still not free from death. How should I be free from it?
Or recollection of death should also be as following
Everyday persons older than me, die: younger than me, die: the persons of the same age die: death has not ceased yet. So assuredly i am also will die one day.
Death should also be recollected by the 5 kinds of signless things or Unknowable things in the living world in advance.
1 - the span of life. (life – time)
2 - The sickness.( the disease of death)
3 - Time of death (when one will die)
4 - Where the body will be laid down-(the place where the body will be laid down)
5 - The destiny ( the existence going after death)
Everybody should contemplate 5 things as follows
1 - Old age ( I cannot avoid old age. Everyone is continuously driven to it.)
2 - Disease ( I cannot avoid disease. Everyone is continuously driven to it.)
3 - Death ( I cannot avoid death. Everyone is continuously driven to it.)
4 - Seperation from his loved ones ( I will be seperated from my loved beings for life or by death. I can not avoid it )
5 - Kamma ( I am the result of my kamma or the owner of my kamma.
I am the heir of my kamma. Kamma is my matrix. Kamma is my relative. Kamma is my refuge. Whatever Kamma I do, whether good or bad, I will become heir to it.)
9 - THE MINDFULNESS OF THE BODY (KAYA GATA NUSSATI)
The mindfulness on the 32 parts of the body.
1-head hair, 2-body hair, 3-nails, 4-teeth, 5-skin
6-flesh, 7-sinews, 8-bones, 9-marrow, 10-kidneys
11-heart, 12-liver, 13-pleura, 14-spleen, 15-lungs
16-bowels, 17-stomach, 18-undigested food, 19-feces
20-brain
21-bile, 22-phlegm, 23-pus, 24-blood, 25-sweat
26-fat, 27-tears, 28-lymph, 29-saliva, 30-nasal mucus
31- oil of the joints (synovial fluid), 32-urine
10-THE MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING (ANAPANASATI)
The mindfulness of breathing (Anapanasati) and Purifying Mind by Vipassana bhavana , insight or Mindfulness meditation will be explained in detail in next chapters.
May the readers gain Dhamma knowledge & be liberated from Samsara.
Metta
Mayawati to raise special force to protect memorials
LUCKNOW - Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Friday decided to raise an exclusive force of former servicemen for the protection of monuments dedicated to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) Dalit icons.
The chief minister decided to go ahead with her plans even without Governor B.L. Joshi’s assent to a bill and ordinance for creation of such a security force.
Mayawati convened a meeting of the state cabinet Friday afternoon and took an administrative decision to proceed with raising the new force.
The force would be headed by a retired army officer of the rank of colonel.
The cabinet meeting was followed by a press conference, where state Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh gave justification for the government’s decision to go ahead without waiting for a word from the governor.
According to him, “the new force would be in place in the next 2-3 weeks.”
“Normally, one does not require a legislation to raise a special security force which could be done through an administrative order only; but because of certain extraordinary provisions the government had decided to adopt the constitutional process for which a bill was duly passed by the state assembly and forwarded to the governor as early as on Feb 18. However, when no word was received from Raj Bhavan for more than a month, the state government issued an ordinance, that was sent to Raj Bhavan on March 26,” Singh told mediapersons.
He said: “While it is the governor’s prerogative to take any view in the matter, the state government had no choice but to initiate the recruitment process for raising the new force because of the impending threats to the memorials and monuments erected as a mark of respect to icons of the downtrodden classes.”
“You are aware how such monuments, memorials and parks have become an eyesore for those opposed to these great social reformers belonging to the lower and backward castes,” he added.
“You can imagine the social upheaval that could be caused in case such elements manage to vandalise any of these spots. Therefore, it was imperative for us to ensure the protection and security of these places without any further delay.”
Principal Home Secretary Fateh Bahadur was entrusted with the task of raising the new force for which rules were also framed overnight.
Mayawati says Centre was not serious about implementing RTE
Mayawati
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Saturday said it would not be possible for the State Administration to fund implementation of the newly-enacted Right to Education and asked the Centre to give money for the scheme.
She accused the Centre of overlooking practical aspects of implementing the much talked about Right to Education Act by not arranging money for its implementation.
Ms. Mayawati alleged that the Centre was not serious about implementing the Act. “This was the reason the Centre did not look into practical aspects while implementing the Act and a nominal provision was made in the Budget,” she said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“If the Centre is really willing to implement the Right to Education Act to benefit the people, it should bear the financial burden to be created on the state for implementation of the Act,” she said.
The Chief Minister said that to implement the Act in Uttar Pradesh, Rs.18,000 crore would be needed in one year, of which 45 per cent (Rs.8,000 crore) has to be arranged by the State.
It would be difficult for the State to arrange Rs.8,000 crore considering its present financial condition, she said.
Ms. Mayawati said if the Centre seriously wanted to implement the Act, it should provide the required funds to UP. “The State had in a letter sent to the Centre in November last year already requested for required funds,” she said.
Press Information Bureau
(C.M. Information Campus)
Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.
C.M. orders action against the then DMs of
Chitrakoot and Sultanpur for irregularities MNREGA
The then CDOs of Mahoba and Chitrakoot suspended,
departmental inquiry set up
Lucknow: March 30, 2010
Taking serious note of the complaints of irregularities in the
implementation of MNREGA, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati
ordered departmental inquiry against the then DMs of Chitrakoot and
Sultanpur districts. She also ordered suspension of the then CDOs of
Mahoba and Chitrakoot districts. She has also ordered departmental inquiry
against the then CDO of Sultanpur by giving him a charge sheet and
suspension of other guilty officers of the Gonda, Balrampur, Mahoba,
Sultanpur and Chitrakoot districts. She also ordered inquiry in these cases.
Ms. Mayawati has warned that corruption would not be tolerated in
the implementation of MNREGA. Issuing strict orders to the officers, she
said that the infrastructure and development works under MNREGA should
be carried out with full honesty. She said that the state government would
take serious note of any laxity in the implementation of MNREGA, which is
directly linked with the employment of the poor and the officers/employees
responsible for it would not be spared at any cost. Likewise, she warned
that those found guilty in the implementation of other programmes of the
Rural Development Department, would not be spared as well.
It may be recalled that on the directives of the C.M.,
Nigrani Samitis
have been set up at the Tehsil level all over the state to monitor the
progress of the works being carried out under MNREGA. Besides, senior
officers had also been carrying out spot verification of the works being
carried out under MNREGA. The C.M. has also ordered third party
verification of the MNREGA and other development works.
On the directives of the Chief Minister, the complaints were seriously
investigated. After the investigations were carried out, the suspension of
the then CDO of Gonda district, Mr. Raj Bahadur, has been ordered and
departmental inquiry has also been set up against him. Besides, the project
director Mr. G.P. Gautam, Nazir/assistant accountant Mr. Sudhir Kumar
Singh, Accountant Mr. Avdhesh Kumar Singh and Statistical assistant Mr.
Durgesh Mishra have been suspended with immediate effect.
Likewise, in Balrampur district, the project director Mr. Amresh Nand
Rai, the then project director Mr. Bhagwati Prasad Verma and the then incharge
account officer currently project economist Mr. Brij Kishore Lal
Srivastava have been put under suspension and departmental action has
also been ordered against them.
In Mahoba, the then CDO, Mr. Jairam Lal Verma, project director, Mr.
Har Narain, the then BDOs Mr. Lal Singh, Mr. Aditya Kumar and Mr. Rajesh
Kuril have also been suspended for irregularities in the implementation of
MNREGA.
In Sultanpur district, departmental action has been ordered against
the then DM, Mr. R.K. Singh and the then CDO Mr. B. Ram by charge
sheeting them. Besides, the project director Mr. Chhote Lal Kuril, senior
clerk Mr. Manoj Kumar, assistant accountant Mr. Devki Nandan Yadav and
accountant Mr. Vijay Shankar Dubey have also been suspended.
In the Chitrakoot district, the then DM Mr. Hridesh Kumar and the
then (now retired) CDO Mr. Gaya Prasad Singh have been charge sheeted
on the directives of the C.M. for irregularities in the implementation of
MNREGA and departmental action has also been initiated. Besides, the then
CDO, Mr. Pramod Chandra Srivastava, the then project director, Mr. Ram
Kishun, assistant accountant Munnu Lal and junior clerk Atul Kant Khare
have also been suspended.
In view of the serious stance taken by C.M. against the corrupt
officers/employees, as many as 42 officers have been suspended and
departmental action had been initiated against 69 officers so far by charge
sheeting them. Moreover, 51 officers/employees were awarded adverse
entries after the completion of departmental inquiries and increment of 4
officers/employees had been stopped.
Besides, FIRs have been lodged in 40 cases in 29 districts. Under it,
action had been initiated against 38 Gram Pradhans, 30 Gram Vikas/Gram
Panchayat Adhikari and action had also been initiated against 48 officers of
various departments. The C.M. has directed the divisional commissioners to
pay personal attention and ensure completion of the inquiry on priority
basis and file the charge sheet in the courts.
*******
News item related to suicide by three farmers in Banda district
because of irregularities in MNREGA totally false and baseless
Deceased had enough means of earning
Lucknow: March 30, 2010
A government spokesman, terming the news item which
appeared in a section of press today, titled
‘Atmahatyaon Ki
Mukhya Wajah MNREGA Mein Dhandhli’
as false and baseless,
said that the three farmers of Banda had not died because of
financial crisis or starvation. Instead, they died because of family
disputes and diseases. These incidents had nothing to do with
MNREGA.
According to the investigation conducted by DM Banda, the
deceased Chunnu s/o Ram Dayal r/o Chakchatgan Tehsil Banda
had enough food and other articles like clothes etc. in his
possession and the bank personnel were not harassing him for
the recovery of dues. Chunnu committed suicide on March 27 last
by hanging himself. The deceased had 1.228 hectare of land in
his name and he had about 30 bighas of
Balkat land. He had a
Rs. 55,000 credit card in his name which belonged to the Triveni
Kshetriya Gramin Bank Kalu Kuan. He had Rs. 44988 at present.
Likewise, Chhuttu Singh r/o Duredi Tehsil Banda ran his
tractor to earn living. He died because of family quarrel. Jagdish
Patel r/o Baberu Tehsil complained of stomach ache and he was
admitted at the PHC. Later, he was referred to district hospital
Banda. He died while he was being taken to Kanpur. The
deceased had 12 bighas of land. He died of disease.
According to the report furnished by DM Banda, Chunnu
and Chhuttu Singh were the earning members of their families.
Therefore, the family members of both the deceased were being
provided benefit of National Family Welfare Programme.
*******
MOU to be signed between Foundation and
State Government for cooperation in field of
Mother-Child Welfare and Health Services
Lucknow: 24 March 2010
The Founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mrs. Melinda Gates along
with her colleagues
— Family Health, Global Health Programme Director Gary
Darmstadt, Director of Foundation Mr. Ashok Alexander, Chief of Staff Jeffrey Spector
and Ms. Usha Kiran, Senior Programme Officer met the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Ms. Mayawati at her official residence here today. She held detailed discussions on
various programmes of Medical, Health and Family Welfare being conducted all over
the State by the Foundation. She also discussed future plans. The Chief Minister
thanked Mrs. Melinda Gates for taking interest in Uttar Pradesh and said that the State
Government would extend full cooperation in the efforts being made by the
Foundation.
Speaking to Mrs. Melinda, the Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati said that the Vidhan
Sabha elections of the state were held in the year 2007 and her party got clear
mandate in it after 16 year long political instability. She said that she had inherited
nothing politically. Manyawar Shri Kanshiram Ji had founded BSP by uniting poor and
SC/STs and because of the poor she got majority. She said that her priority was to serve
the poor people. But, when she came to power the law and order situation of the state
was very poor. After streamlining the same, various welfare schemes for the poor were implemented. She said that Ambedkar Gram Sabha Vikas Yojna had been implemented in the name of the Architect of the Constitution, Baba Saheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
This scheme was being implemented all over the state, she added.
The Chief Minister said that Mahamaya Garib Balika Ashirwad Yojna and Savitri
Bai Phule Balika Shiksha Madad Yojna had been implemented with a view to helping
the poor girls of the state. Besides, Manyawar Shri Kanshiram Ji Shahri Garib Awas
Yojna and Sarvajan Hitai Shahri Garib Makan (slum area) Malikana Haq Yojna had
been implemented for the benefit of poor. Moreover, U.P. Mukhyamantri Mahamaya
Garib Arthik Madad Yojna had also been implemented for the benefit of BPL families.
She said that her government had paid special attention to improve Medical, Health
and Family welfare services in the state. Earlier, the poor people could not afford
treatment because of financial constraints. The state government had provided various facilities to the deprived and poor people, so that they could also get better medical facilities in the government hospitals.
During the meeting, Mrs. Melinda Gates informed C.M. that the Foundation was
especially focussing on child care, mother health, polio and T.B. eradication. She also
assured that the Foundation would invest Rs. 250 crore for the welfare of mother and
child. She said that the Foundation was also exploring various possibilities of
coordination with the State Government.
Mrs. Gates said that the Foundation also wanted to extend its cooperation in
those areas, which were so far untouched by the Medical, Health and Family Welfare
services. She said that the Foundation was currently conducting schemes worth Rs.
500 crore in the State. She said that the Foundation
’s expenses in the State were the
highest. Besides, the Foundation was also interested in enhancing its contribution to
improve the health indicators of the State.
Welcoming Foundation
’s resolve, the Chief Minister assured Mrs. Melinda Gates
that the State Government would extend its full cooperation in the efforts being made
by the same and a formal shape would also be given to these efforts. She said that an
MOU would be signed between the State Government and the Foundation.
The Chief Minister, welcoming Mrs. Melinda Gates and her colleagues, said that
after several years of political instability in U.P., the people of the State gave
opportunity to her party to form a majority government in May 2007. After almost two
decades her party had formed a stable government in the state. She said that after
assuming power all possible efforts had been made to create a strong structure to
provide medical, health and family welfare services to all the people of the state with
special focus on the poor people.
Ms. Mayawati said that owing to the serious efforts made by the State
Government, the poor people were getting the benefit of better medical services now.
The State Government, through its limited resources, was making special efforts to
improve the Medical and Health facilities in the state, so that people could get easy
access to these facilities, she added. The cooperation of NGOs is also sought in it, she
said.
The Chief Minister said that she was informed that the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation had been working for the welfare of the destitute of the world. She
expressed her gratitude towards the interest shown by the Foundation in Uttar
Pradesh. She expressed the hope that the Foundation would make large contribution in
the field of Medical, Health and Family Welfare.
The Chairman of the U.P. Advisory Council, Mr. Satish Chandra Mishra, Chief
Secretary Mr. Atul Kumar Gupta, Additional Cabinet Secretary Mr. Netram, Principal
Secretary to C.M. Mr. Shailesh Krishna and other Secretaries to C.M., Principal
Secretary Medical, Health and Family Welfare Mr. Pradeep Shukla, D.G. Medical &
Health Dr. R.R. Bharti and other officers were present on the occasion.
********
Central Government should adopt constructive
approach towards development schemes of State
State
’s development hampered as education, energy,
roads, transport and airport projects pending with Centre
Centre should install n-power projects
at Narora, Bulandshahr and Bundelkhand,
state government will provide land, water and other facilities
Lucknow: March 22, 2010
A spokesman of the Uttar Pradesh Government said that the
Central Government should adopt constructive approach towards
the various development schemes related with education, energy,
roads, transport and airports on the basis of public-privatepartnership
(PPP). He said that owing to the indifference of the
Central Government, numerous PPP projects related with various
infrastructure sectors had been pending.
The spokesman said that U.P. was the largest state of the
country population wise. The state government had been making all
possible efforts to remove backwardness, unemployment and
regional imbalances through its own limited resources, but the
state
’s development could not be given fillip as various projects had
been pending with the Central Government. He said that the state
government had taken initiative in the technical education sector
and had been ensuring setting up of various vocational educational
institutions on the basis of PPP. The Central Government should
extend financial cooperation in this regard, he added. Likewise, the
Central Government should clear the Taj International Airport to be
set up at greater Noida immediately. He said that if the Centre
decided to set up n-power plants at Narora, Bulandshahr or in
Bundelkhand, then the state government would provide land, water
and other facilities for these plants.
The government spokesman said that the state government
had given importance to PPP in its new economic policy. The state
government had accorded top priority to the development of various
infrastructure facilities, he added. Under the new economic policy,
he said, sectors like power, transport, drinking water supply, roads,
canals, industry, medical and health and education had been
identified for the development of rural and urban infrastructure.
The spokesman said that the Government of India did not
have any policy or guidelines regarding the PPP in the field of
education. On the contrary, as many as 06 ITIs and 08 polytechnics
were being set up on the basis of PPP by the state government. He
said that the Ministry of Human Resource Development had not
taken any initiative to ensure setting up of polytechnics, degree
level technical institutions, centres of excellence, secondary schools,
degree colleges/universities on the basis of PPP even though it had
unlimited possibilities.
The spokesman said that the Central Government should
formulate long term action plan for the education sector in
consultation with the state governments. He said that the Centre
should extend cooperation to the educational institutions set up on
PPP basis by the state government.
The spokesman said that the state government had decided to
set up coal based new power plants in the state. He said that
proposals for providing coal linkages for Jawaharpur (Etah), Dopaha
(Sonbhadra), Lalitpur and Yamuna Express Way projects had been
pending with the Central Government. Besides, proposal for
allotment of 06 coal blocks had also been sent to the Centre. The
spokesman demanded from the Union Coal Ministry that quota of
coal should be allotted to the state government on the priority
basis. He said that the Centre had been installing 12 ultra mega
power projects in various parts of the country, which would
generate 48,000 MW of power. None of these projects is being set
up in U.P. despite repeated requests sent to the Centre, he said.
Regarding the Taj International Airport pending with the
Centre, the spokesman said that the state government had
proposed its construction on the basis of the PPP and according to
the guidelines of the Planning Commission. He emphasised that the
Centre should give its approval for the construction of Taj
International Airport without any further delay. Owing to this delay,
the air traffic congestion could not be checked on one hand, while
on the other the state government
’s efforts to ensure rapid
development of infrastructure facilities could not be given thrust.
Besides, the Centre should give its clearance for this airport, so that
direct/indirect employment opportunities could be created and also
for the rapid development of infrastructure facilities in the area.
The government spokesman said that the state government
had also decided to set up another airport in Kushinagar on the
basis of PPP because it would encourage tourism in the Buddhist
Circuit as well as it would also provide air connectivity to the people
of eastern Uttar Pradesh with gulf countries. He demanded that the
Union Finance Ministry and Home Ministry should give their
permission immediately in this regard.
The spokesman said that whenever the Central government
decided to undertake construction of National Highways, it
pressurised the state government for entering into such an
agreement under which the state government could not construct
new express ways or state highways on the basis of PPP in the
future. He said that the state government could not shut the
possibilities of investments in the road sector on the basis of PPP.
He said that land is a state subject and the state government had
developed a suitable mechanism in the form of joint committees to
resolve the issues of competitive roads and construction of
interchanges. He said that the Government of India should utilise
these forum for coordinated development of roads. He said that the
Centre should not impose any unnecessary agreement on the state.
He said that several proposals for the widening and strengthening of
state highways had been pending with the Union Road Transport
and National Highways Ministry, which should be approved
immediately.
The spokesman said that a subsidiary of Uttar Pradesh State
Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) is proposed to be created for
the development/modernisation of bus terminals on PPP basis. The
state government had sought GOI
’s permission, which was still
pending with the Centre even though several reminders had been
sent and meetings had been held. He said that the Central
Government should give its permission at the earliest.
———
Take stringent action against officers involved in power theft
—
Chief Minister
News item published regarding involvement of
minister in power theft in Muzaffarnagar false and baseless
3-Member team of Power Corporation investigating
irregularities in incoming/independent power feeders
Lucknow: March 21, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati ordered senior officers to
take stringent action against those involved in power theft cases. She also
directed them to launch an extensive drive to stop power pilferage all over the
state. Following the orders of the Chief Minister, the U.P. Power Corporation
had already launched an extensive drive to check power theft.
On the basis of the information received from the Power Corporation, a
government spokesman termed the news item published in a section of press
regarding involvement of a minister and an MP in the power theft in
Muzaffarnagar district as false and baseless. The spokesman said that the said
factory, from where the power theft is reported, is not owned by the minister.
He said that during the investigation, tampering with the incoming feeders
came to light at certain power sub centres of Muzaffarnagar district. He said
that a 3-member team of Power Corporation had been conducting on the spot
investigation of the irregularities reported at incoming power feeders.
Appropriate action would be taken against the guilty after the submission of
report, the spokesman stated.
The spokesman said that it was also being investigated whether the
power consumers connected with the feeders in question were also involved in
the irregularities. The meters of these consumers had also been sent for
investigation.
The spokesman said that F.I.R. had been lodged regarding the remotes
recovered from the incoming feeders at Narha and Sujdu power sub centres of
Muzaffarnagar district. F.I.R. had also been lodged regarding irregularities in
the independent power feeder at Sardhana power sub centre of Meerut district.
————
Badal Chatterjee takes charge as Additional Director,
Information and Public Relations Department
Lucknow: March 23, 2010
The 1979 batch senior PCS officer Mr. Badal
Chatterjee took charge as Additional Director in the State
Information and Public Relations Department here today.
It may be recalled that Mr. Chatterjee has been
transferred from the Labour Department where he was
posted as Special Secretary.
*******
Agra gears up for biggest Dalit empowerment show
Agra is gearing up for the annual three-day Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations starting April 14 that are seen as a demonstration of SC/ST empowerment over the past decades.
Each year, a Bheem Nagri - the venue of the celebrations - comes up in a different area, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Arvind Pushkar told IANS.
“The main focus is on the Bheem Manch that has a new theme each year. Last year, it was the Parliament House. This year, the theme is Buddhist culture and trends,” Pushkar added.
Towards this, new roads are being built, water and power supply lines being laid, and civic amenities in six villages behind the Taj Mahal are being updated and streamlined.
The Agra Development Authority, the Municipal Corporation, Awas Vikas and half a dozen other agencies are pouring in their resources to provide upgraded facilities as lakhs of visitors are expected, along with a host of politicians.
The organising committee members said the whole 14-km stretch would be flood-lit with “attractive display of lighting”.
The main dais will be 120 feet long, 80 feet high and 75 feet wide with the Kanshi Ram Memorial in Lucknow as the backdrop, flanked by pillars with Buddhist motifs, according to Devi Singh Azad, a senior member of the committee.
The state culture department, Uttar Pradesh Tourism and the Information and Public Relations department would arrange for artistes and programmes.
Organising committee members are upbeat as Chief Minister Mayawati is expected to announce a package of special developmental schemes for this Taj Mahal city, gearing up for the Commonwealth Games rush.
SC/ST constitute more than one-third of the 20 lakh plus population of Agra, described often as the SC/ST capital of north India.
“The city was a favourite of both B.R. Ambedkar and (Bahujan Samaj Party founder) Kanshi Ram,” SC/ST activist Netra Pal Singh said.
Local court summons Sanjay Dutt in “jhappi-pappi” case
STAFF WRITER 14:34 HRS IST
Pratapgarh (UP), Apr 3 (PTI) A local court today summoned Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt on April 24 in the case filed against him for his “jadoo ki jhappi and pappi” (magical hug and kiss) remark on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati during last year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Anirudh Kumar Tewari issued the summons for Dutt’s appearance when the chargesheet filed in the case came up before the court.
The sub-inspector of police, who had investigated the FIR lodged in this connection on April 16, 2009 at the Nagar Kotwali against the actor, had filed the chargesheet before the CJM on March 18, prosecution sources said.
04/02/10
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The Path of purification
The dispensation of the Dhamma is three fold :
(1) Learning the teaching of Buddha and propagation of Dhamma or teach others. ( In Pali - Pariyatti )
(2) The Practice ( In Pali - Patipatti )
(3) The Realization ( In Pali - Pativeda )
Learning the teaching of Buddha and propagation of Dhamma or teach others is like a basic foundation for right practice.
Following the Middle Path without deceit, one should practice correctly by using the right knowledge.
The realization of supra-mundane paths (magga), fruitions (phala), Nibbana ( Nirvana ) will be attained through the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration.
Nibbana is regarded as the highest stage of mental purity, the destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion.
Four supra-mundane paths and four fruitions can be seen by four kinds of Noble persons (stream-Enterer, Once-Returner, Non-Returner and Arahat ).
For example - If we say as the Buddhasasana is a large lake, the learning, propagation and teaching of Dhamma is like a basic foundation of the lake. It must be very strong to keep water inside. If there is a strong foundation of the lake, the right practice will always exist and water will stay. Noble persons, they are like Lotus flowers which will always be growing on the water of the lake and are trying to propagate the Dhamma in this world like raining here and there.
If one wants to practice , one should learn the teachings of Buddha to a certain level of knowledge and one must be endowed with five factors.
(1) One must believe in the enlightenment of the Buddha and his teachings. One should also believe in himself as he could definitely realize the path and fruition in this life.
(2) One must have good health. It is easier for beginner to practice when one is in good health.
(3) One must not be deceitful, must be honest.
(4) One must sustain vigorous effort to root out mental defilement
(5) One must be endowed with insight into the impermanence of things.
If one understands the Buddha’s teaching, and if one is convinced that his teaching is The Right Path and if one tries to follow it, then one will take refuge in the Triple Gems.
There is no initiation ceremony (or baptism) which one has to undergo. ( But to become a bhikkhu, a member of the Order of the Sangha, one has to undergo a long process of disciplinary training and education)
So, Everyone who follows the Buddha’s teaching regards the three jewels, The Buddha, The Dhamma ( The Teaching ), and The Sangha ( The Order of Monks) generally called “The Triple Gem ” and recites the following :
Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa. (recite 3 times)
( Homage to Buddha, the Blessed One, the Exalted One, the Fully Enlightened One.)
Namo - I pay homage
tassa Bhagavato - to that Vernerable Buddha
Arahato - deserving of special reverence
Sammasambuddhassa - knowing by himself all there is to know in the correct manner.
Buddham. saranam. gaccharmi. ( I take refuge in the Buddha.)
Dhammam. saranam. gaccharmi. ( I take refuge in the Dhamma.)
Sangham. saranam. gaccharmi. ( I take refuge in the Sangha.)
Dutiyam pi Buddham. saranam. gaccharmi. ( For the second time……
Dutiyam pi Dhammam. saranam. gaccharmi. ( For the second time……
Dutiyam pi Sangham. saranam. gaccharmi. ( For the second time……
Tatiyam pi Buddham. saranam. gaccharmi. ( For the third time……
Tatiyam pi Dhammam. saranam. gaccharmi. ( For the third time……
Tatiyam pi Sangham. saranam. gaccharmi. ( For the third time……
( Humbly pay homage to The Three Gems : The Buddha, The Dhamma, and The Sangha, once, twice, and three times.)
Triple Gems
Gems are precious things in the worldly matter. Like wise, to the followers of Dhamma the triple gems ( Ratana ) are the most precious objects in the world.
Buddha is a person who has understood ultimate reality and enables others to understand it through his teaching of the Four Noble Truths.
Dhamma is the Buddha’s teachings: Tipitakas or the Three baskets, the path to Nibbana ( the final bliss).
Sangha are the disciples of Buddha and are worthy of reverence.
Five things difficult to Obtain
1) to obtain an appearance of a Buddha
2) to obtain a human existence ( a state of human being)
3) to live in a suitable place and to obtain a sufficiency of one’s sense faculties, to obtain Saddha ( Saddha = faith and confidence in triple gem and in moral, spiritual and intellectual values ).
4) to obtain a state of an ascetic ( disciples of the Buddha )
5) to hear the true Dhamma
In Pali – “(1) dullabho Buddhuppado lolasmim., (2) dullabho manussatta - patilabho, (3) dullabha saddha sampatti, (4) dullabha pabbajja,(5) dullabham. saddhammassavanan ” ti evam divase davase ovadi.
Brief explanation of 5 difficulties
Firstly, to obtain an appearance of a Buddha, he had been through many uncountable numbers of cycles of death and birth, and at various stages, had exercised perfections and improvements in order to gain His position: “ the Great Being of Sublime Awakenment ”.
Secondly, it is extremely rare to be born a human being. “ It is as difficult as getting a blind turtle surfacing only once in a hundred years for a gulp of air, a chance to fit its neck into a hole of a wooden yoke floating on the wide ocean”. So, it could be a long, long time before one can attain this precious human world again.
Beings are born according to their actions, words and thoughts, the Kamma forces , they have set in motion, mostly be born in four lower planes of suffering. The root cause of being in the lower realms is due to the state of ignorance, and this ignorance comes from desires which sets the Kamma forces in motion.
Therefore, it is extremely fortunate to be in the human world.
Value of Human existence ( Man is supreme)
The Buddha is a man par excellence, only teacher who did not claim to be other than a human being, pure and simple. He attributed all his realization, attainments and achievements to human endeavour and human intelligence.
Man’s position, according to Dhamma, is supreme. Man is his own master and there is no higher being or power that sits in judgement over his destiny. Buddha admonished his disciples to be a refuge to themselves and never to seek refuge in or help from anybody else. One is one’s own refuge. Man has the power to liberate himself from all bondage through his own personal effort and intelligence.
Thirdly, faith is a man’s best treasure because it brings mundane and supramundane happiness as its result.Faith is the seed because it is the foundation of all wholesome qualities.By unshakable and well established faith, one crosses over the ocean and could become a noble person.
Forthly, one could become a novice only within sasana, only after Saving off head hair, Holding Robes to the Teacher (senior monk), asking for the Robes from the teacher and wear them, requesting Novice Ordination, Requesting the Ten Novice-Percepts with the three Refuges, Paying Homage to the Buddha, Ten Precepts of a Novice and Requesting to be the Preceptor. To become monks or bhikkhus, there are more steps to follow. There are many Sangha ( monks) follow the Buddha’s teachings and have become enlightened.
Lastly, it is very difficult to listen to the Buddha’s teachings are called Tipitaka “meaning“ The Three Baskets or collection of the teachings.
(1) Vinaya pitaka = teaching about discipline, containing the rules of conduct for the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis - ( the monks and nuns ) and the regulations governing the Sangha, the monastic order. ( consists of five books expounding on the rules of monastic life.)
(2) Sutta pitaka = brings together the Buddha’s discourses spoken by him on various occasions during his active ministry of 45 yrs. ( a collection of discussions, stories, poems and proverbs imparting all the precepts of practical Dhamma ).
(3)Abhidhamma pitaka = the basket of the Buddha’s higher or special doctrine. Abhidhamma Pitaka deals with epistemological, metaphysical and psychological matters.The explaination of dhamma in Abhidhamma is thorough, complete and more detail and in an analylitical way than Suttanta.
What is Abhidhamma?
( Prefix ) Abhi = the sense of preponderance and distinction
( preponderance means superiority in weight, power, importance or strength )
Important to find the essential and fundamental teaching of the Buddha.
The Buddha’s teachings, particularly his way of meditation is so much misunderstood by Buddhists and non-Buddhists in later times.
Most people are interested in meditation or yoga in order to gain some spiritual or mystic powers. This kind of meditation existed before the Buddha. So it is not purely Dhamma, but it is not excluded from the field of true meditation.
There are two main forms of Buddhism known in the world today, Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism is regarded as the original orthodox Buddhism, is followed in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Chittagong in East Pakistan.
The word , true meditation in Theravada Buddhism, Vipassana , aims at cleansing the mind of impurities and disturbances such as lustful desires, hatred, ill-will, indolence, worries and restlessness, skeptical doubts, and cultivating such qualities as concentration, awareness, intelligence, will, energy , the analytical faculty, confidence, joy, tranquility, leading finally to the attainment of highest wisdom which sees the nature of things as they are and realizes the Ulitmate Truth, Nibbana or Nirvana.
In order to realize the Dhamma, the meditating yogi should remember that death is imminent even at each moment of noting rising and falling and remembering thus should concentrate on meditating.
The most important discourse ever given by the Buddha on meditation is called Satipattana Sutta.
Five benefits of Listening to True Dhamma
1) Hearing what one has not heard before
2) Being able to refine, purify or learn something new from what one has already heard
3) Being able to be freed from wrong views
4) Being able to correct one’s views
5) Clarity of mind
Meeting with Noble persons who could guide how to prosper in both worldly and Dhamma matters and help you seeing the Four Noble Truths is a blessing.
Meditation Teachers who could give only mystic states as happy living in this existence or peaceful living or nothing more are not pure Dhamma followers .This form of meditation existed before the Buddha.
So finding the right teacher is essential for the realization of Nibbana. Vipassana, insight into the nature of things leading to the complete liberation of mind , to the realization of the Ultimate Truth, Nibbana. This is essential meditation. You might have chances to know or meet Noble persons while you are learning and practicing because if one knows Dhamma, one could see the Buddha and also noble persons in this existence. You can see them with your wisdom.
Depends on One’s will
Study of Dhamma first and practice with true knowledge will lead one to achieve the goal. The Buddha admonished as Man is supreme. You have achieved difficulties as mentioned above. You should refuge yourself to find wisdom, mundane and supramundane path and nibbana but all depend on you and your will.
Unforeseeable things
There are five unforeseeable things
1) at what age one will die
2) with what disease one will die
3) when one will die
4) where one will die and how will the dead body be discarded
5) which realm one will have the result in the next existence.
In worldly matters, one should feel as if one would never die and fulfill one’s duties toward one’s household, relatives and nation.
The Buddha expounded four Universal truths as follows
(1) All being are impermanent because they always subject to decay and death.
(2)They have no refuge and no protection. i.e when a person has a chronic disease, no one could ease and share his suffering ( not by wife, husband, son, daughter, relatives ). He alone has to suffer.
(3) All beings are not the owners of their own wealth. When he dies he cannot take anything with him. He has to pass away with empty hands. What you own is what you did as wholesome or unwholesome kamma actions.
(4) All beings are unsatisfied with wealth and sensual pleasures.
After realizing the worthlessness of sensual pleasures highly prized by ordinary people and the value of renunciation by seeing a decrepit old man, a diseased person, a corpse and hermit , the Buddha decided for renunciation and looked for truth of nature for liberation from suffering at the age of 29.
After six years of practice, the Buddha followed the middle path and attained perfect Enlightenment and became a Buddha at the age of 35.
The Buddha’s successful ministry lasted 45 years. He served humanity both by example and percept, with no personal motive. Throughout the years he wondered from place to place, teaching the Dhamma to the people and liberating them from the bonds of Samsara. He passed away in his 80th year. ( The Buddha’s Parinibbana )
In Brief, the Buddha’s teachings are
(1) Not doing any evil by knowing evil actions and evil roots and knowing good actions and good roots.
(2) Cultivating good by the ten bases of meritorious action (Dasa Punna-kiriya-vatthu)
(3) Purifying one’s mind by Samatha-bhavana and Vipassana-bhavana.
Not doing any evil
We all should know what are evil actions and evil roots first.
10 Evil actions = 10 Duccaritas
10 unwholesome behaviors
There are total 10 evil or bad actions which are divided into three groups.
3 by bodily actions, 4 by verbal actions and 3 by mental actions.
Du carita = du (unwholesome) + carita ( behavior) = unwholesome behaviors
3 evil bodily actions
There are 3 evil or bad bodily actions or conducts.
(or) there are 3 unwholesome Behaviors, Committed Bodily Action.
They are also called Akusala kaya kammas or Duccarita.Kaya Kamma.
1 - Killing of living beings ( pa na ti pata)
2 - Stealing or taking what is not given (a din na da na)
3 - Committing sexual misconduct ( Kamesu micchacara)
4 evil verbal actions
There are 4 evil or bad verbal actions or conducts.
(or) there are 4 unwholesome Behaviors Committed verbal Action
They are also called Akusala vaci kammas or Duccarita Vaci kammas.
4 - Telling lies or false speech ( Mu sa va da)
5 - Slandering or divisive speech (Pi suna vaca)
6 - Harsh speech (Pha rusa vaca)
7 - Frivolous talk (Sam phap pa la pa)
3 evil mental actions
There are 3 evil or bad mental actions or conducts (or)
There are 3 unwholesome Behaviors, Committed mental Action (thought) are as follows. They are also called Akusala Mano Kammas or duccaritas Mano kamma .
8 - Covetousness (Abhi jjha)
9 - Ill-will (Bya pa da) and
10 - Wrong view or false views (Miccha ditthi).
Actions of Killing
(from a Manual of Buddhism by Narada, Chap 11,99)
( Killing means the destruction of any living being. The Pali term “Pana” strictly means the psycho-physical life pertaining to one’s particular existence. The speedy destruction of this life force, without allowing it to run its due course, is panatipata. Animals are also included in living beings.
Five constituent factors necessary to complete the action of killings are as follows:
1. A living being
2. Consciousness that it is a being
3. Intention of killing or the mind to kill it.
4. Effort to kill and
5. Consequent (resulting) death.
The bad effects of killings are – short life, sickness (bad health), constant grief caused by separation from the loved , constant fear, disability and so on.
Actions of stealing
Stealing means taking what is not given.
Five constituent factors necessary to complete the action of stealing are as follow:
1 - Another’s property
2 - Consciousness that it belongs to another.
3 - Intension of stealing or the mind to steal it.
4 - Effort to steal and
5 - Consequent removal or stealing.
The bad effects of stealing are – poverty, wretchedness (deep unhappiness), unfulfilled desires, dependent livelihood (dependence on another for livelihood), loss of property by the five kinds of enemies: floods, conflagrations, tyrants, thieves and robbers and unloved heirs.
Action of Sexual Misconduct
Sexual misconduct means “wrong conduct in sensual pleasures” or unlawful sexual intercourse.
Four constituent factors necessary to complete the action of sexual misconduct are as follow:
1 - The forbidden object ( the woman under guardianship)
2 - Sexual desire (the mind to enjoy it)
3 - Effort to enjoy (the attempt to do it) and
4 - Thrusting one’s sexual organ into another’s (the enjoyment in engaging for sexual organs).
The evil effects of sexual misconduct are – having many enemies, getting undesirable wives or husband, getting birth as a ( prostitute) or as an eunuch or a castrated man.
Action of Lying
Telling lies means “an untrue statement purposely made to deceive, or a false speech intended to deceive.
Four constituent factors are necessary to complete the action of telling lies or lying are as follows:
1. An untrue thing
2. Intention to tell lies or the mind to deceive
3. Corresponding effort and
4. The communication of the matter to others.
The bad effects of lying are – being tormented by abusive speech, being subject to vilification, incredibility, stinking mouth, deformity, and so on.
Action of slandering or Divisive speech
Four constituent factors are necessary to complete the action of slandering are as follows:
1. Persons who are to be divided.
2. The mind or intention to separate them, or the desire to endear oneself to one of them.
3. Corresponding effort and
4. The communication of the matter to another.
The bad effect of slandering is the dissolution of friendship without sufficient cause.
Action of Harsh speech
Rude speech – using unpleasant words (swearing words) to the ears or disagreeable to the heart.
Three constituent factors are necessary to complete the action of harsh speech are as follows:
1. Another to be abused
2. Angry thought or mind and
3. Abusing
Using harsh speech but with a merciful heart is not a bad action.
The bad effects of harsh speech are: having a harsh voice and being detested by others though absolutely blameless.
Action of Frivolous Talk
Frivolous talk is “speaking senseless, useless things or talking foolishly.
Two constituent factors are necessary to complete the action of frivolous talk are as follows:
1. The inclination (tendency) towards useless, unprofitable talk.
2. The narration of such themes.
The bad effects of frivolous talk are: defective bodily organs and incredible speech.
Action of Covetousness
Covetousness means jealousy or thinking that it would be great to have something that belongs to someone else and scheming to get it in an unwholesome manner.
“inordinately or wrongfully desire, a too eager desire for wealth, possessions or what belongs to someone else”.
Two constituent factors are necessary to complete the action of covetousness are as follows:
1. Another’s property and
2. Adverting to it saying: “Would this be mine!”
The bad effect of covetousness is non- fulfillment of one’s wishes.
Action of Ill-will
It means ill will, thinking that it would be great if someone died, became injured or destroyed.
“wish to injure or harm others whom someone hates”
Two constituent factors are necessary to complete the action of ill-will are as follows:
1. Another being
2. The thought of doing harm.
The bad effects of ill-will are: manifold diseases and a detestable nature.
Action of False or Wrong View
It means seeing things wrongly by not taking the right view.
(not believing in Kamma and its results i.e that wholesome deeds cause wholesome results and unwholesome deeds cause unwholesome results.)
The 3 most common wrong views are as follows:
1. Natthika-ditthi = Nihilism, which denies the survival of the personality in any form after death, thus negating the moral significance of deed.
2. Akiriya-ditthi = the inefficacy of action view, which claims that deeds have no efficacy or no results and thus invalidates moral distinctions.
3. Ahetyka-ditthi = the view of no cause. No cause or no condition for the defilement and purification of beings. Belief as beings are defiled and purified by chance, fate or necessity.
Two constituent factors are necessary to complete the action of false view are as follows:
1. the manner perverted in which the object is viewed and
2. the understanding of it according to that misconception.
The bad effects of false view are “base attachment, lack of wisdom, dull wit, chronic diseases and blameworthy ideas.
What are Evil or Bad roots?
There are 3 kinds of evil roots.
Greed (Lobha)
Hatred or Aversion (Dosa)
Delusion or ignorance (Moha) It is the main root of all evil.
The 10 Evil actions are rooted in these 3 evil roots.
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Spring From The root of
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3 evil bodily actions
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Killing of living beings
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Hatred
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Stealing or taking what is not given
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2 roots
-Greed and delusion -Hatred and delusion.
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Committing sexual misconduct
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Greed.
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4 evil verbal actions
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Telling lies or false speech
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2 roots
-Greed and delusion -Hatred and delusion.
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Slandering or divisive speech
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2 roots
-Greed and delusion -Hatred and delusion.
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Harsh speech
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From the root of Hatred
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Frivolous talk
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2 roots
-Greed and delusion -Hatred and delusion.
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3 evil mental actions
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Covetousness
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Greed
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Ill-will
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Hatred
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Wrong view or false views
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Greed
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Cultivating good
We should understand what is good actions and good roots.
10 Wholesome Behaviors
There are 10 good actions. (Sucaritas) are divided into 3 group. They are also called ten wholesome actions. (avoiding 10 unwholesome actions)
Su = wholesome + carita = behaviors = sucaritas = wholesome behaviors
3 good bodily actions
1. abstaining from killing
2. abstaining from stealing
3. abstaining from sexual misconduct
4 good verbal actions
4. abstaining from lying
5. abstaining from slandering or tale-bearing
6. abstaining from harsh speech
7. abstaining from frivolous talk
3 good mental actions
8. absence of covetousness or non-covetousness
9. absence of ill –will or good will
10. right view or right understanding
What are good roots?
There are 3 kinds of good roots:
Non-greed (Aloba),
non-hatred (Adosa) and
non-delusion or non-ignorance (Amoha).= wisdom, knowledge with good judgement.
The 10 bases of wholesome deeds or 10 bases of Meritorious Action -
( Dasa Punna-Kiriya-Vatthu )
Punna = wholesome deeds
Kiriya = that one should do
Vatthu = base
One should genuinely do 10 wholesome deeds which is the basis in order to build a foundation for wholesome mental states in this very life and for happiness and peace in the next are called Punnakiriyavatthu.
3 types of Charity
1 - (Dana) Giving generously
2 - (pattidana) Sharing of the merit of one’s good deeds with others.
3 - (Pattanumodana) Rejoicing in others’s merit or to gladly call out “Sadhu” (Well-done) when someone else is sharing merits.
3 type of Morality
1 - (Sila) Morality observing and keeping the moral precepts - 5 precepts, the 8 precepts, the 10 precepts
2 - (apacayana) Reverence or paying respect to those deserving of respect.
3 - (Veyyavacca) Service or helping others with whatever they need as they do wholesome deeds.
4 types of Bhavana or mental development.
1 - (Samatha and Vipassana-Bhavana) Meditation
2 - (Dhamma savanna) Listening to the Dhamma talks, talks that expound the Buddha’s teaching.
3 - (Dhamma desana) Teaching or preaching the Dhamma without expecting material things or gifts in return.
4 - (Ditthijukamma) Straightening one’s right views or holding the right view ( believing in Kamma and its result, i.e that wholesome deeds cause wholesome results and unwholesome deeds cause unwholesome results)
Sila or Morality or Precept
Verse on Virtues of Sila ( Moral conduct)
The smell of Sila, spreads so fragrantly,
Every time one wears Sila, one stands beautifully,
Every time one keeps Sila, the hells are at bay,
Noble Sila, reliable without a doubt or dismay.
(Mahasi Sayadawgyi)
Paying Homage to the Three Gems
I raise my joined hands in reverence to the forehead and humbly pay homage to the Three Gems, the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha once, twice and three times.
Taking five precepts
I request the five precepts together with the Three Refuges. Out of compassion for me, please give me the Precepts for the first time, the second time and the third time.
1) I promise not to killing living beings.
2) I promise not to take what is not freely given.
3) I promise not to commit sexual misconduct.( one can promise not to commit ignoble conduct or sexual intercourse)
4) I promise not to tell lies.
5) I promise not to use intoxicating drinks and drugs that cause heedlessness.
May the precepts I keep be a condition for the attainment of magga and phala knowledge.
In Pali- Panca Sila
Aham. bhante tisaranena saha panca silam. dhammam - yacami
Anuggaham katva silam. detha me bhante.
Dutiyampi—–
Tatiyampi —–
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa.
Homage to Him, the Blessed One the Exalted One, the Fully-Enlightened One.
Then follows the acceptance of the 3 Gems as our refuge.
Buddham. saranam. gacchami.
Dhammam. saranam. gacchami.
Sangham. saranam. gacchami
Dutiyampi——–
Tatiyampi ———
1) Panatipata veramani - sikkhapadam. samadiyami.
2) Adinnadana veramani - sikkhapadam. samadiyami.
3) Kamesu micchacara veramani - sikkhapadam. samadiyami.
4) Musavada veramani - sikkhapadam. samadiyami.
5) Sura - meraya majja - pamadatthana veramani - sikkhapadam. samadiyami.
Idam me silam magga phala nanassa paccayo hotu.
Taking the Aji vat tha maka - Silam.
I request the precepts together with the Three Refuges.
Out of compassion for me, please give me the Precepts for the first time, the second time and the third time.
1) I promise not to killing living beings.
2) I promise not to take what is not freely given.
3) I promise not to commit sexual misconduct.( one can promise not to commit ignoble sexual conduct or sexual intercourse)
4) I promise not to tell lies
5) I promise not to tell slandering or divisive speech.
6) I promise not to tell harsh speech.
7) I promise not to tell frivolous talk or talking non-sense.
I promise to abstain from wrong livelihood.
May the precepts I keep be a condition for the attainment of magga and phala knowledge.
In Pali - Aji vat tha maka - Silam.
Aham. bhante tisaranena saha Aji vat tha maka - Silam
dhammamyasami
Anuggaham katva silam. detha me bhante.
Dutiyampi—–
Tatiyampi —–
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa.
Homage to Him, the Blessed One the Exalted One, the Fully-Enlightened One.
Then follows the acceptance of the 3 Gems as our refuge.
Buddham. saranam. gacchami.
Dhammam. saranam. gacchami.
Sangham. saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi——–
Tatiyampi ———
1) Panatipata veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
2) Adinnadana veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
3) Kamesu micchacara veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
(Abrahmacariya )
4) Musavada veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
5) Pisunavaca veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
6) Pharusavaca veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
7) Samphappalapa vaca veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
8) Micchajiva veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
Idam me silam magga phala nanassa paccayo hotu.
Taking the Eight Uposatha Precepts
I request the eight precepts together with the Three Refuges. Out of compassion for me, please give me the Precepts for the first time, the second time and the third time.
1) I promise not to killing living beings.
2) I promise not to take what is not freely given.
3) I promise not to commit ignoble sexual conduct or sexual intercourse.
4) I promise not to tell lies.
5) I promise not to use intoxicating drinks and drugs that cause heedlessness.
6) I promise not to eat after noon.
7) I abstain from dancing, singing, playing musical instruments, watching or listening to things which are not in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings, decorating myself with flowers and wearing fragrant lotions, powders or perfumes.
8) I abstain from sleeping or staying on high, noble places.
May the precepts I keep be a condition for the attainment of magga and phala knowledge.
In Pali Eight precepts
Aham bhante tisaranena saha atthagasamanagatam. uposatha - silam dhammamyasami Anuggaham katva silam detha me bhante.
Dutiyampi—–
Tatiyampi —–
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa.
Homage to Him, the Blessed One the Exalted One, the Fully-Enlightened One.
Then follows the acceptance of the 3 Gems as our refuge.
Buddham saranam gocchami.
Dhammam saranam gacchami.
Sangham saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi——–
Tatiyampi ———
1) Panatipata veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
2) Adinnadana veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
3) Abrahmacariya veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
4) Musavada veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
5) Sura-meraya majja - pamadatthana veramani-sikkhapadam samadiyami.
6) Vikala bhojana veramani - sikkhapadam samadiyami.
7) Nacca gita vadita visuka dassana malagandha vilepana dharana mandana vibusanatthana veramani-sikkhapadam samadiyami.
8) Uccasayana mahasayana veramani-sikkhapadam samadiyami.
Idam me silam magga phala nanassa paccayo hotu.
Verses Regarding the Wholesome Results of keeping the Five Precepts and the Unwholesome Results of Transgressing the Five Precepts.
1 - Panatipata – If you kill a life, physical disabilities, dry, wilted look, weakness, sluggishness, fear of dangers, being killed by others, being killed by oneself, lots of diseases, loss of friends and a short life are what you’ll get so abstain and attain the benefits.
2 - Adinnadana - If you steal, poverty, not getting what you need, loss of your comfort, and loss of your belongings to the Five Enemies ( water or flood, fire or conflagrations, thieves and robbers, tyrants or bad leaders and unloved heirs like bad sons and daughters) are what you will get, so abstain and attain the benefits.
3 - Kamesu micchacara - If you transgress, hated by many , lots of enemies , so little wealth, so little peace , bad family, shame and embarrassment, physical deformities, so many worries, and separation from your loved ones are what you’ll get , so abstain and attain the benefits.
4 - Musavada - If you speak untruthful words, unclear speech , crooked teeth, foul mouth dry complexion, dull senses, disfigurements, lack of honor, lack of influence, roughness in speech, lack of restraint, lack of calm, are what you’ll get, so abstain and attain the benefits.
5 - Sura-meraya-majja-pamadatthana - when you take drugs and alcohol, loss of judgment, being lazy, being forgetful, being insane, having no sense of gratitude, having no moral shame, having no moral fear and easily doing unwholesome deeds, these are what’ll happen to you, so abstain and attain the benefits.
(Mahagandhayone Sayadawgyi)
Questions & Answers
Q: How does a person observe the five precepts? Is a monk absolutely necessary ? explain.
If these 5 precepts are observed in earnest, our life would be a truly happy one and our society would become a much safer and more peaceful place to live in.
A monk is not absolutely necessary if one knows how to take 5 or 8 precepts.
The most important is one should be aware of his precepts.
A cow does not kill any being, not steal, not lie, not drink alcohol. We can not say as that cow is following 5 precepts because the cow is not aware of her morality.
These precepts are not commandments imposed on us,
— are the moral codes that we willingly undertake to observe out of clear understanding and firm conviction that they are good for ourselves as well as for our society.
Q:What do the first, second, third, forth and five precepts tell us to do?
The first precept implies the rights of all living beings to protect and preserve their life. It also implies the importance of love and compassion for all.
The second precept signifies an individual’s rights for the possession as well as the protection of wealth rightly acquired. It also stress the importance of right livelihood.
The third precept, not to indulge in sexual misconduct. It teaches one to respect one’s own spouse as well as those of other, including, by extension all things that are near and dear to them. It is intended to inculcate in man self – restraint and a sense of social propriety.
The forth precept make man honest and truthful. It aims preserving man’s credibility, upon which rests his / her honor, dignity and trustworthiness.
The last precept intends to keep a healthy person physically, mentally and morally. It helps him to maintain his / her sense of responsibility in thought and action. Sometime not possible when one is under the spell of drinks or drugs.
Q:What are the benefits of the five precepts?
The five precepts are not only something good but something absolutely necessary for a truly happy and peaceful society.
At least the five benefits of keeping the Moral precepts
1 - One who is fully moral in conduct, one who keeps all the moral precepts, is one who is not forgetful and negligent. Such a person does not squander or waste many things. As a result, he/she is able to accumulate much wealth.
2 - One becomes well-known as someone who is exceptionally gifted and good.
3 - Without losing face, one can boldly stand in front of any audience and confidently be a part of meetings and conferences.
4 - When one is about to die, one can die with clarity and maintain mindfulness as one need not be bogged down by indecisions and restlessness.
5 - After death, one can be reborn in a pleasant existence.
Purifying One’s Mind
There are 2 kinds of Meditation to Purify One’s mind
1. Samatha-bhavana = concentration meditation.
2. Vipassana-bhavana = insight or mindfulness meditation.
Meditation in Pali means Bhavana, literally mental development to achieve wisdom and true knowledge.
1. Samatha - bhavana ( concentration meditation )
There are 40 meditation subjects. ( Or sevenfold meditation subjects )
1) 10 Kasinas
2) 10 kinds of foulness (Asubha)
3) 10 recollections (Anussati)
4) 4 Divine Abodes ( Brahma vihara)
or 4 illilmitables or illimitabilities ( Appamannya )
Or 4 sublime states.
5) One perception of loathsomeness in food ( Ahare patikula sanna )
6) One analysis of the four elements (Satudhatu vavatthana )
7) 4 immaterial states ( Arupa )
2. Vipassana - bhavana
( insight or mindfulness meditation)
Vi = means in various ways by understanding the true nature of 3 characteristics: impermanent (Anicca), suffering (Dukkha) and non self ( Anatta).
Passana = watching and seeing things at the present moment through the 6 sense doors : eyes, ears,nose, tongue, body touch, and mind.
the 6 sense doors are:
Eyes:
Ears:
Nose:
Tongue:
Body touch:
Mind:
Questions and Answers
Q: What will be the result of Concentration Meditation?
One can destroy hindrances ( such as senual desire, ill-will, hatred, indolence, restlessness ,worry, skeptical doubt , ignorance) and lead to the attainment of Jhanas.
Q: What will be the benefit of mindfulness Meditation?
The benefit is to purify one minds and acquire an insight into the real nature of all phenomena.
The practice of meditation can bring infinite benefits to us in life.
The degree of benefits depends entirely on the degree of achievement he makes and on how far he can apply it (meditation ) to real life.
Meditation
1) helps to calm the mind and get it better organized.
2) strengthens our will power and enables us to face all problems and
difficulties with confidence.
3) makes us think positively.
4) improves our efficiency in work by helping us to concentrate better and by sharpening our mental faculties.
5) free us from worries, restlessness, etc.
6) increases our mental health and therefore bears a positive effect to a large extent on our physical health.
7) cleanses our mind of defilement. ( Kilesa)
8) create in us virtuous ( morally good) qualities like kindness, inner peace, humbleness ( opposite of arrogance), a realistic attitude toward life and prevents us from being influenced by such elements as passion, selfishness, hatred, jealousy or greed.
Q: Will I be successful in the practice?
There are several factors that are important for the success of the practice.
Eg. Proper atmosphere, spiritual preparedness, proper frame of mind, self-confidence, frequency and regularity in practice, and so on.
But as with other activities in life, trying to do one’s best is always better than not trying at all.
Q: How can I get success in meditation?
One’s faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration and knowledge will lead the one’s success.
Q: Does one need to learn all?
No, Out of 40 meditation objects for samatha bhavana, One can choose any meditation subjects according to one’s appropriate caritas.
Q: How can I choose the right meditation subject
which match for my caritas.?
Guess your caritas( behavior) and choose one or two meditation subjects first and have a try.
Q: Give me the Best advise?
Best advise is in this very life to look for one of 4 noble persons who already attained enlightenment and could give the best guidance for the practice of meditation. One needs the right teacher for mental development.
Q: How could one know the enlightened person in this very life?
Q:If I could not find a noble person, what should I do?
If one learn Dhamma , the Buddha’s teachings and practice in the right way, the one could develop knowledge and see the enlightened person through his speech and his dhamma talks and his books.
If one could not see or find enlightened persons in this very life, the one should follow the practice of samatha and vipassana meditation diligently continuously.
There are many good sangha , disciples of Buddha in Theravada Buddhism , who learned Dhamma and teach right way of practice for lay people.
To be continued
The spiritual conquest of Buddhism
C.M. Austin de Silva -Former Asst. Director, Dept of National Museums
The noble thought of service to suffering humanity was predominant in the mind of the Buddha when he sentforth his disciples to preach unto mankind the good law or the Dhamma.
In entrusting his charge he said unto them ‘Go forth, O Bhikkhus, for the good of the many for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, benefit and happiness of gods and men. Let not two go by one way. Preach, O Bhikkhus the Dhamma, excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, excellent in the end, both in the spirit and in the letter. Proclaim the Holy Life, altogether perfect and pure.”
And the life of the Blessed One permeates with the sweet aroma of devoted and selfless service. From the time of his attaining to the Supreme Awaken-ness and until his Parinibbana for over 40 years, the Master fulfilled his Buddha mission on earth. Through hamlets, towns and cities by the waters of the Ganges he journeyed in the company of his disciples preaching the Dhamma and bringing unto the hearts of men and women the serene joy of his teaching.
To thousands who were in woe and agony he restored peace and consolation of mind, and to those groping in the way of ignorance he revealed the Light of Truth. Such was the mission of Sakyamuni the Buddha, the Great Physician of men who came to heal them of their diseases of pain and suffering: decay and death.
And to stabilise his mission of service for the well-being and happiness of mankind he instituted the Order of the Sangha, the oldest religious institute in the world. And through the Sangha, His great mission spread into diverse villages, towns and country districts and men and women hearing of the Great Enlightenment of the Buddha of the very truth of the norm of the excellent practices of the Order were mightily pleased with the system, and dreading the round of rebirth they renounced the world embracing the Order.
These happy men and women were free as the air. In the deep solitude of the forest glens and glades, they walked wrapt in the joy of meditation, and imparted the new message, and new life of freedom to all those who came into contact with them.
Service
Service to humanity is the hallmark of the Bodhisatva Ideal. Self-sacrifice, renunciation and service to others are the supreme virtues in the life of a Bodhisatva, and these He achieved by fulfilling the ten paramitas or the pre-requisites for Buddhahood. Think of the great sacrifice, Gotama Buddha made when he was born as the Bodhisatva Sumeda. The bliss of immortality was within his reach, but he renounced it temporarily, in order to be of greatest service to all living beings.
At the feet of the Buddha Dipankara, he received the confirmation of Bodhi and entered into Samsara to accomplish the ideals of a Bodhisatva which he achieved through 550 births, and in his last birth as Prince Siddhartha he attained to supreme Buddhahood, and opened the gates of immortality to myriads of beings.
The ideal of universal peace and love is the keynote of Buddhism. The Message of the Master rings through and through with his Maitri or Boundless loving kindness. He was the Lord of Infinite Peace and gave peace to all who came unto him.
The books record that the Blessed One rose daily before day-break from His Mahakaruna Samapatti or Trance of Bondless Compassion and Love, and surveyed the whole world to help those in distress and woe, for the purpose of restoring unto them the joy and peace of mind.
Disturbed
We are living in times when the Peace of the world has been much disturbed. People in many lands are living in constant fear. They fear the ravages of war, and the destruction of life and property by atomic power and the hydrogen bomb. World powers are deliberating on various problems and measures to be adopted for consolidating the peace of the world.
All peace-loving nations and governments are co-operating through various movements, associations and conferences in a stupendous campaign for securing peace and international peace. It is in these days, when the world is hard pressed for peace, that men and women should turn their minds to the Great Physician the Tathagata who 2500 years ago preached a doctrine of Immortal Peace.
Today we need His message more and more to solve the world’s problems of woe and misery, pain and suffering; anger and hatred; strife and envy; malice and jealousy; and above all greed for material power. And in our quest for Peace we must bear in mind the Buddha’s teaching “Hatred is not conquered by hatred; but by love “and greed is the cause of all sorrow and fear”.
Kindness
Maitri or boundless loving kindness is one of the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism. Maitri is infinite love, kindness and compassion extended to all beings including every form of life on earth bright spirits in the heaven - worlds and woeful creatures suffering in the dark planes of existence.
The Buddhist spirit of tolerance, sympathy and respect for all individuals springs from this virtue of Maitri. And to what extent Buddhists have practised Maitri is amply proved from the fact that in the history of Buddhism not a drop of blood was shed in the propagation of its doctrines. Every action of a Buddhist should manifest the spirit of Maitri. It is the virtue of Maitri that adds charm, grace and sweetness to the true Buddhist Life.
Compassion
Asoka of India built up a Buddhist empire, wherein Maitri was practised in very large measure. His rock edicts reveal that he promulgated rules instructing his subjects to foster love and kindness for both man and beast.
He ordered wells to be dug, shade trees to be planted, and herb-gardens to be maintained for the benefit of men and animals. He caused hospitals to be erected all over his kingdom to relieve pain and suffering, and to render free medical aid to suffering humanity.
In fostering Maitri it is very necessary to suppress ill will, malice, hatred, jealousy and anger, as well as killing and violence. Manifold blessings and happiness comes unto him who permeates his life with the sweet aroma of Maitri. Buddhism stands for the triumph of Good over Evil. From birth to death life is a chain of actions.
And as long as action continues so long does life continue to be for our actions are dependent on our thought process. With the continuity of the thought-process, our life flux or Santati continues to flow and so rebirth become possible.
Kamma or action is the factor that determines the nature of one’s rebirth. Buddhism teaches that good action or Kusala Kamma will bring about an individual’s birth in a happy state under happy conditions. In the case of evil action or Akusala Kamma, the resulting effects produce rebirth in a woeful state.
The Buddha says, “That deed is well done which being done, one afterwards repents not and the fruit whereof one reaps with joy and pleasure.”
Right Action
Kusala Kamma embraces Right Action or Samma Kammantha, which is one of the principles incorporated in the Noble Eightfold Path. Self-purification which leads to final emancipation can only be achieved by right action done by thought, word and deed.
It is by constantly doing good deeds that self-purification is ultimately realised. But when the ultimate goal of the holy life is achieved, one transcends both good and evil.
The Arahant or Perfect Saint in Buddhism is one who has gone beyond good and bad. In the Majjhima Nikaya the Buddha says. “Righteous things (Dhamma) you have to give up, how much more the unrighteous things (Adhamma).
And finally the Mission of Buddhism is the attainment of Immortality. Nibbana is the Summum Bonum of life, and it is the highest aim of every good Buddhist. Nirvana is a condition of heart and mind in which every earthly craving is extinct.
It is the cessation of every passion and desire, of every feeling of fear and sorrow.
It is a mental state of perfect rest and peace and joy, in the steadfast assurance of deliverance attained from all imperfections of finite being.
It is a condition impossible to be defined in words, or to upon the people of Sri attached to the things, in the world.
Only he knows what Nibbana is who has realized it in his own heart.
Nibbana can be attained in this present life. In the Rohitsass Sutta the Buddha says, “In this very one fathom long body along with its perceptions and thoughts, do I proclaim the world, the origin f the world, cessation of the world, and the path leading to the cessation of the world.”
Two Divisions
According to Buddhism everything cosmic and hypercosmic is classified under two divisions viz; things conditioned by causes (Sankhata) and things not conditioned by any cause (Asankhata). Nirvana is not conditioned by any cause. Hence there is neither an arising nor a passing away. It is birthless, decayless and deathless.
In the Itivuttaka the Buddha referring to Nirvana as the goal of ultimate human understanding and striving; outside all causal states, free and unfettered says:- “There is O Bhikkus, an Unborn, Unoriginated, Unmade, and Nonconditioned.
If, O Bhikkhus, there were not this unborn, Unoriginated. Unmade and Nonconditioned an escape from the born, originated made, and conditioned would not be possible here. As there is O’ Bhiikkus, an Unborn, unoriginated Unmade, and Non-conditioned, an escape to the born, originated, made, conditioned is possible.”
The false notion or illusion of the ego or ‘I’ must be totally annihilated in the realisation of Nibbana. There is no I’ in Nibbana. The individuality and self are lost and all life gets merged into the oneness of life in Nirvana.
“Unto Nibbana.
He is one with life,
Yet lives not He, is blest, ceasing to be
Om, Mani padme,
Om’ the Dew drop slips
Into the Shining sea”.
Sir, Edwin Arnold.
Change
All nations who came under the benign influence of the Buddha’s Message experienced a stupendous change - a change which advanced them morally, spiritually and culturally. Buddhism alms at liberating man from all chains and ties, bodily, spiritually, religiously and socially Sir Edwin Arnold the author of “The Light of Asia” describes Buddhism as “the grandest manifestation of human freedom ever proclaimed.”
Buddhism teaches perfect goodness and wisdom without a personal Deity, the highest knowledge without a revelation, a moral world order and just retribution carried out with necessity by reason of the laws of nature and of our own being, continued existence without an immortal soul, a salvation in which everyone is his own Saviour, and which can be attained in this life and on this earth by the exercise of our own faculties without prayers, sacrifices, penances and ceremonies.
And over 25 centuries ago, the holy land of India witnessed the arising of the Tathagata the Unique One, in the person of Gautama Buddha.
He was the greatest personality that India presented to the world. The Buddha looms large before the world like a blazing meteor in the heavens. The perfect sanctity of his life of boundless love and compassion is as chaste and immaculate as the snowy peaks of the great Himalayas.
More than a third of mankind owe their moral and religious ideas to the Buddha, whose amazing personality appears the highest, gentlest, holiest and the most beneficent in the history of thought nearly four hundred and eighty millions of the human race live and die in the tenets of Gautama Buddha.
Forests of flowers are daily laid upon his stainless shrines in all Asia, and countless millions of lives daily repeat the formula.
“I take my refuge in the Buddha”. And the eternal truths of life which the Buddha preached are incorporated in his Dharma.
Dhammadipa
Nearly twenty three centuries ago Asoka, the Great Indian Emperor sentforth Buddhist missionaries to kindle the lamps of Dhamma in Asian lands.
And Eastern countries like Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Tibet and Mongolia received the hallowed light of the Dhamma.
For centuries this fair and beauteous Isle of Lanka was illumined with its light, and all acclaimed it as “Dhammadvipa” , the land of the Dhamma.
The teaching of the Buddha Dhamma began to influence the minds of the sons and daughters of Sri Lanka.
People turned their lives to the eternal truths of life, and in the stillness and solitude of nature they sought the Absolute, the unconditioned, the Nirvanic Bliss.
The emotions and sentiments experienced by them in this pious pursuit with glimpses of Nibbana in the distance, found true expression and reflection in the writings and literature of the country.
Sinhalese Literature is largely Buddhistic and very much influenced by Buddhist Ethics.
It was with the introduction of Buddhism in 247 B.C. that the Sinhalese imbibed the spirit and culture of ancient Buddhist India.
The Mahavansa or the Great Chronicle records that Mahinda the son of the Emperor Asoka was responsible for the conversion of the island into the Buddhist faith, and that Devanampiyatissa the ruler of the Island, and all his subjects embraced Buddhism.
With the advent of Buddhism a wonderful spiritual awakening with all its ennobling and softening effects dawned up on the people of Sri Lanka. Thousands of monasteries sprang up all over the land.
Pakche sent a mission to Japan and presented sutra (Buddhist scriptures) and images of Buddha to the Japanese court.
These gifts were augmented by a large number of Buddhist priests and nuns, temple architects and Buddhist sculptors who followed them Under Shotoku Taishi’s inspiring guidance and patronage Buddhism became the vital factor of national life in Japan, and Buddhist art flourished with great splendour, influencing their art and culture in general to the extent that the level of Japanese civilization was great raised.
Inspired
As regards the influence that Buddhism exercised on the Chinese people let me quote the opinion of the late Dr. Samuel Beal, Professor of Chinese, University of London. ?The Chinese were inspired by new thoughts, and blow was dealt to their studies and fresh combinations of men and women formed into religious societies: the country was covered with temples and pagodas and thousands stirred by this new impulse sought to find out in the solitude of the hermit’s cell the sacred of the unrest that had seized them.
The Buddhists of India brought about all this, and much more than this for what occurred in China happened also throughout the regions beyond, and in due course Korea.
Japan on that side, and Mongolia and Tibet on the other were converted and made obedient to the same faith or whatever it was in Buddhism that had conquered the Eastern World.
Just Hand over the
MASTER KEY !
TO BSP !
AND BE HAPPY !
- JC
Now a temple for ‘goddess’ Maya
If Kanhaiyalal Rajput of Mahoba in Bundelkhand has his way, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati could soon get her own temple.
Rajput has sought permission from the district administration to build a temple for the CM on the land he owns at Nathpura in Mahoba. ‘’The temple would be constructed there using donations from Mayawati supporters,'’ he said.
But there is a catch. ‘’It would be compulsory for her devotees to offer money to the goddess,'’ Rajput said.
According to this lawyer and self-proclaimed BSP supporter, Mayawati is a ‘’god to the poor and downtrodden'’. But Rajput is yet to decide who the cash offered at the temple will finally go to. ‘’Maybe it will go to the party fund,'’ he said.
Rajput has submitted an application to the district magistrate seeking permission for the temple.
B. B. Pant, the district magistrate of Mahoba said: ‘’I have not received the application. I will decide when I receive it.
The Entire Sarvajan Samaj has already built a temple for Prabuddha Bharatha Matha Mayawati Ji in their mind after participating in the Maha Rally on 15-03-2010 at Lucknow and seeing all the Memorials she had built for the Buddha and the great Buddhists of this land.
Not just garlands. But the entire Prabuddha Bharath’s Budget along with the MASTER KEY as desired by Baba Saheb Ambedkar, will be gifted to her by the Sarvajan Samaj for the welfare and happiness of the Entire Society.
‘Women’s bill flouts Ambedkar’s ideals’
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati has called for countrywide protests
against the Women’s Reservation Bill next month, saying that the
legislation was against Father of the Constitution icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s ideology of
empowering women from all sections of society.
“Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, wanted empowerment
of women from all sections of society, but the bill wouldn’t benefit
women from SC, ST, OBC, religious minorities and upper caste poor,”
said Mayawati while addressing a meeting on Saturday. She called on
her party cadres “to leave no stone unturned” for the countrywide
protests on April 14.
The party plans to hold the protests at the tehsil level and has asked
its leaders to educate people about the “flaws” in the bill, which
envisages 33% reservation for women in the legislature.
Mayawati said the BSP wasn’t against the reservation, but wanted a
sub-quota for the women from the weaker sections of society.
The CM launched a frontal attack on Congress and called the party
“anti-Ambedkar” . She said Congress forced Ambedkar to sign the Poona
Pact under which SC/STs had to give up the demand for separate
electorate and agree to reservation of seats in the legislative
bodies. “The Hindu Code Bill drafted by Babasaheb as Union law
minister in the Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet after Independence provided
many rights to Hindu women, but he was forced to resign following
stiff opposition by Congress leaders,” she said.
Mayawati said the Bharat Ratna was conferred on Ambedkar 43 years
after the Independence, when the BSP-supported National Front
government was in power.
“UP has created a record by spending Rs 5,600 crore under the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme till March 20, which is 85 per
cent higher than last year. The state has achieved second rank in the
country,” Principal Secretary (Rural Development) Shri Krishna said.
Wonderful article and very informative! Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the rest of the series.
Regards
anu
wow! what an eye-opener for me. Thanks, Pradeep. Keep up the good work.
Thats really heartening…I was just thinking that internet has really made this world smaller…Pradeep Bhai thanks for this article…We are not alone in this struggle…
Thanks for a very informative and inspiring article. We must intensify our bond with all the oppressed communities in the world. Our struggle cannnot end until we render the world free of every kind of oppression and exploitation!
nice job, pradeep. give my love to my friends in sajokaza. xo ann
[…] Pardeep Singh Attri meets the Roma and learns about how they’re
Dear Pradeep, This is a well-written and timely piece, coming as it does when Navi Pillay has taken a strong position against caste at the UN with Nepal in support. Look forward to the second instalment. You have a great gift for telling a good story, building a narrative… Convey my wishes to Jai Bhim Network. Navayana would be happy to ship one set of all its books to Jai Bhim Network in Sajókaza.
Anand
Jai Bhim friends,
I am really happy to see all these replies. Thank you everyone.
@Anand
Thank you brother, i will ask Mr. Tibor to make you a phone call. We had already told him regarding your publication, regarding Insight and offered him book “Khairlanji: A Strange and Bitter Crop” by Dr. Anand Teltumbde. I hope these people will be happy to build stronger relationships..
Nice article.
Great article…loved it very much
it is an interesting article.my friend dula who has written me about the tragic condition of roma community of europe.but,the interaction between roma community and non-roma communities is so important.
[…] reading Pardeep Singh Attri’s account of his experiences as a Dalit activist traveling in Hungary in the brilliant Insight Young Voices […]
Your experiance and your work both are great… Keep it up Dude
Dear Pardeep
thanks a ton for such a wonderful write up and i loved every bit of it. The message of Babasaheb has relevance for any discriminated group and your write up has proved that. His motto of Educate, Agitate and Organise will soon resonate the entire world and we the sons and daughters of Babasaheb has our task cut out - we need to engage more and more with outside world and take Babasaheb’s message and our struggle outside this country as much as possible.
nice article .. Inspirational
Its an interesting article. Roma have their roots in the Indian subcontinent, believed to be mainly from Rajasthan/Gujarat region. They have been consistently treated with contempt, hatred and suspicion and even persecuted by Nazis during holocaust.
There is more info available on Wikipedia about them : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people
Thanks for the article showing a reality in lives of the western SC/STs .There are many human groups across the world who are neglected hence need connected to right thoughts,education,health & information technology etc. . Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar’s life and struggle will be the inspiration for all the opressed population as well as the progressive minded people in the world.
I am sure that all such segregated, sidelined population will come forward and contribute for the well being of the world, like we Indian Dalits.
[…] See the rest here: Insight Young Voices Blog » Blog Archive » Babasaheb Ambedkar and … […]
It is very informative article ,it is also came to notice that the SC/STs are not only in India but also spreaded world wide . the Roma community is one of them who are neglected and not allowed in main stream .It is need of time to connect all of them under one Banner.
Dear Dilip,
I don’t see bringing discriminated people under one banner is possible ever and/or feasible. The need of the time is to learn from each other’s movements and show our solidarity. Every discriminated community like dalits, romas or burakumins of Japan have their unique sets of problems and are located in different settings and each require different approaches.
I have been aware of the issues of the Romas for some years due to my work in the women’s sector. So I think it would be very good if Swati also wrote about her interactions with Roma women as there are some unique things about the way gender manifests itself in the community. This will give some insights into how disrimination works in women’s lives among them and point to some solutions for us as well. Thanks to Pardeep for his excellent despatches from the ground. Looking forward to reading Anoop too.
really nice article…tons of thnx to preamble of constitution DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR,
even thnx wud not b enough..i immensely appreciate this team.
n i wud like to say as our babasaheb had given a last message..
“SHIKSHIT BANO,SANGHATIT HOWO,SANGHARSH KARO”
Dear Cynthia
Thank you for your comment regarding me writing about my Interaction with Roma Women. In Jai Bhim Network I am an intern as a part of my Masters studies and will be here for longer than Pardeep and Bharat, Thus I am working towards developing an article on Roma Gypsies. Specially on the political participation of Roma women in Local self government. I also have approached UNICEF in Hungary for creating a learning tool for Roma children and students on various issues like gender equality, Integration to basic issues such as personal hygine there is similer learning tool an animated movie in India developed by UNICEF called Meena and in south afrika it is called Sara. I wish to make a similer one with the co-ordination of UNICEF Hungary, Central European University (Media Department) that I am part of and Jai Bhim Network where I am in intern. I shall soon post a write up regarding my findings .
Wonderful piece of information. This shows the universality of Babasaheb’s work…..
I first time read your articles regarding roma cummunity in Hungry and your feelings about that community are great. I appreciate that you are doing a good job for Dalit community.
PARAM JIT VILL FATTUWAL MUKERIAN PUNJAB
Jaibhim,
Really nice to know about the romas and thier bonding with our SC/STs of India. lets unite worldwide to fight against the evil of discrimination and bring the universe of buddha’s thought which was been dreamed by DR.B.R.Ambedkar.
Regards,
Rahul Sardar
A very good work for the upliftment of down troden peoples who have been debarred from all necessitated requirements like electricity, road and other amenities required for daily livelyhood.I support your all the activities and if you required my help, I am always ready to help you people. I have an experience in India and I have taken these matters to the Govt. of India. I have faced the consequences of my activities but I never cared all these factors. In future also I am ready to take active part in such type of activities.
hey pradeep im grossly touched by the things discribed abt the roma ppl i would definately like to work 4 them if u have any good work to do plz dont forget me.
JAI BHIM.
May all the Romas be ever happy, well and secure.
May all beings be happy.
May all Romas live long.
May they have calm, quiet,alert, attentive and equanimity mind
with a clear understanding that
every thing is changing.
Lord Buddha’s and Babasaheb Ambedkar teachings will always help them.
This information will be put on
http:// sarvaj.ambedkar.org