453 LESSON 01 12 2011 Bhaddiya Kaligodha Sutta About Bhaddiya Kaligodha
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LESSON 453
Practice a Sutta a Day Keeps
Dukkha Away
In whom there exists no provocation,&for whom becoming&non-becoming
are overcome, he is one-beyond fear, blissful, without grief, whom the devas
can’t see.-The Blessed One
The Lok Sabha election is on the way. Predictions on the hot
topic - who will be the next Prime Minister of PraBuddha Bharath?
Citing the report, many started speculating that Mayawati also
can be the next Prime Minister as the report mentioned about a Untouchable
(Scheduled Caste)
Here it can be recalled that the BSP leader and the Chief
Minister of Uttar Pradesh always has been noticed of using her Sarvajan Hithay Sarvajan
Sukhay i.e., the welfare and happiness of the entire people of the Country card.
The report will enhance Maywati’s dreamwho is looking forward to the assembly
election, 2012.
|
Mayawati’s |
βTHE elephant has set
a political cat among the pigeons.β Lucknow-based political analyst Sudhir
Panwar thus succinctly summed up the immediate effect of Chief Minister
Mayawati’s announcement of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government’s proposal
to divide Uttar Pradesh into four smaller States. βEverybody knows that the
processes for the formation of the proposed new States β Paschim Pradesh,
Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal and Awadh Pradesh β cannot even be initiated properly
before the State Assembly elections, which are due early next year. But,
undoubtedly, this has added a new, if contentious, dimension to the election run-up
as a whole and particularly to the early electioneering launched by the major
players β the principal opposition Samajwadi Party [S.P.], the Bharatiya Janata
Party [BJP], the Congress, and the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal [RLD] β in
State politics. How exactly this will ultimately impact the electoral trend
cannot be gauged at this point. But there is no doubt that this too will come
up time and again on the poll scene,β Panwar said.
Early
reactions from political forces in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country
as well as ground reactions in the State indicate that through the November 16
announcement the BSP Chief Minister has, in one stroke, delivered several
political blows.
The
announcement has also put three important political players β the Congress, the
BJP and the RLD β on the defensive, at least in one aspect of the political
campaign. None of the three parties can overtly oppose the announcement, on
account of a variety of factors.
They
find themselves incapable of discussing the merits or demerits of the proposal
The RLD has been for
long demanding a separate Harit Pradesh, comprising the western districts of
U.P. The contours of Paschim Pradesh correspond to the RLD’s Harit Pradesh. The
BJP is for smaller States in principle and has been supporting the movement for
the creation of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. Sections of the
Congress in at least three of the four proposed new States β Bundelkhand,
Poorvanchal and Paschim Pradesh β have periodically articulated their support
to the idea of dividing U.P. The Congress’ national leadership, including Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, has repeatedly pointed to the possibility of a second
States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to consider the demands for smaller
States on the basis of developmental concerns, ethnicity and regional
aspirations.
Naturally,
the leaderships of all the three parties have been vague in their reactions to
Mayawati’s proposal.
At the level of
national politics too, the proposal is bound to cause great discomfort to the
Congress and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by it at the
Centre. The government is already grappling with the Telangana agitation, which
has not only generated turbulence from time to time but also led to dissensions
within the party’s Andhra Pradesh unit. The Congress has sought a number of
βmiddle groundβ options to deal with the situation without much success. The
political climate created by Mayawati’s announcement is bound to accentuate the
emotive element in the Telangana movement. This will naturally add to the woes
of the Congress governments in Andhra Pradesh and at the Centre.
There are also
indications that Mayawati’s proposal has acted as a spur to other long-standing
demands for statehood. These include the demands for Vidarbha, Gorkhaland and
Bodoland. The National Federation for New States (NFNS) has already regrouped
in the context of the announcement. Niroop Reddy, convener of the NFNS, told
Frontline that the organisation was planning to meet in Delhi in early December
to concretise a new action plan for launching a broad agitation in different
parts of the country. Interestingly, the NFNS has representatives of another
demand for statehood from Uttar Pradesh, namely Brij Pradesh. The demand
visualises the creation of Brij Pradesh comprising certain parts of western and
central Uttar Pradesh. Niroop Reddy says that if Mayawati decides to support
the demand for Telangana and Vidarbha, she will gain greater acceptance in the
southern and western parts of India. βVidarbha is Ambedkar’s home State and
Telangana has only 10 per cent upper caste population,β he says.
Indications from the
higher echelons of the BSP are that the party is looking at suggestions such as
these seriously in order to renew and strengthen its effort to gain greater
prominence in national politics. βThrough the proposal for four new States,
Behenji has made it clear that the BSP is not a one-person party. By any
standards, the BSP is a very powerful force in the regions of Poorvanchal and
Bundelkhand, and if these attain statehood, we will have Chief Ministers from
different sections of the organisational hierarchy. In many ways, the
announcement also signifies a concrete move to decentralise the organisation as
well as empower more party leaders. Undoubtedly, this is the path for greater
national prominence,β a senior BSP Member of Parliament told Frontline on
condition of anonymity, as is the wont among second-level leaders in the party.
A number of political
analysts, including the academic Sudha Pai of Jawaharlal Nehru University
(JNU), who has carried out fundamental research on the reorganisation of
States, are of the view that the cumulative impact of all these developments
will ultimately make the Centre consider the formation of a second SRC. βSuch
an entity could look at the multitude of issues and aspirations behind
different demands and come up with concrete and objective parameters for
reorganisation. There is no need to see this as promotion of fissiparous
tendencies but has to be perceived as part of a continuing process of
democratisation that will address the concerns of social groups and regions
hitherto excluded from the mainstream of governance,β Sudha Pai said.
The views expressed
by analysts like Sudha Pai do find reverberations in the Congress. A number of
leaders admit that the Union government will be forced to grapple with the
cumulative effect of the statehood demands. In fact, a number of them even
advocate the setting up of a second SRC before the U.P. elections. This, said a
senior Minister from south India, would help the party in two ways. βOne, [it
will] minimise the political damage caused by Mayawati’s announcement as it
will show that the Congress too is serious in pursuing the agenda, and two,
give the party and the government some biding time on issues such as Telangana
on account of the processes involved in the setting up of the second SRC and
getting it into motion.β As things stand, all these ideas are at the debating
stage only, although there is the realisation that βsomething needs to be doneβ
at the earliest in order to put up a good show in U.P. and also to stave off
the problems that are bound to emerge from other parts of the country.
In terms of caste
equations, the 2007 elections signified desertion by a section of the Other
Backward Classes (OBC) votes from the party, including votes from its most
prominent support base, the Yadav community.
While travelling in
parts of western, central and eastern districts of the State over the past
month is that this combination will be as effective as it was in 2007.
The upper castes, has
stayed back in BSP since the 2007 Assembly and 2009 Lok Sabha elections, as
they feel secure with the highly performing best and meritorious governence of
Ms Mayawati. MLAs and Ministers belonging upper castes are cofident of 300
seats in the coming elections.
The corruption
charges faced by the Union government and the anti-Congress thrust of the
anti-corruption movement are not doing them any good.
The
BSP, on its part, is trying hard to advance the SC/ST-Brahmin Bhaichara (SC/ST-Brahmin
brotherhood) political equation it had promoted in 2007.
Its Chamar base is
intact. The leadership is apparently hopeful that this, along with the addition
of a section of Muslim and upper caste votes, will help the BSP emerge once
again as the single-largest party. The BSP also hopes to get some support from
the groups that have campaigned for the division of Uttar Pradesh.
Mayawati’s proposal
for new States was apparently based on a consideration of the impact of small
groups in a localised situation.
Ud 2.10
PTS: Ud 18
Bhaddiya Kaligodha Sutta: About Bhaddiya Kaligodha
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Ireland
I have heard that on one
occasion the Blessed One was staying at Anupiya in the
Mango Orchard. Now at that time, Ven. Bhaddiya Kaligodha,
on going to a forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, would
repeatedly exclaim, “What bliss! What bliss!” A large number of monks
heard Ven. Bhaddiya Kaligodha, on going to a forest, to the foot of a tree, or
to an empty dwelling, repeatedly exclaim, “What bliss! What bliss!”
and on hearing him, the thought occurred to them, “There’s no doubt but
that Ven. Bhaddiya Kaligodha doesn’t enjoy leading the holy life, for when he
was a householder he knew the bliss of kingship, so that now, on recollecting
that, he is repeatedly exclaiming, ‘What bliss! What bliss!’” They went to
the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As
they were sitting there, they told him: “Ven. Bhaddiya Kaligodha, lord, on
going to a forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, repeatedly
exclaims, ‘What bliss! What bliss!’ There’s no doubt but that Ven. Bhaddiya
Kaligodha doesn’t enjoy leading the holy life, for when he was a householder he
knew the bliss of kingship, so that now, on recollecting that, he is repeatedly
exclaiming, ‘What bliss! What bliss!’”
Then the Blessed One told a
certain monk, “Come, monk. In my name, call Bhaddiya, saying, ‘The Teacher
calls you, my friend.’”
“As you say,
lord,” the monk answered and, having gone to Ven. Bhaddiya, on arrival he
said, “The Teacher calls you, my friend.”
“As you say, my
friend,” Ven. Bhaddiya replied. Then he went to the Blessed One and, on
arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there,
the Blessed One said to him, “Is it true, Bhaddiya that, on going to a
forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, you repeatedly exclaim,
‘What bliss! What bliss!’?”
“Yes, lord.”
“What meaning do you
have in mind that you repeatedly exclaim, ‘What bliss! What bliss!’?”
“Before, when I was a
householder, maintaining the bliss of kingship, I had guards posted within and
without the royal apartments, within and without the city, within and without
the countryside. But even though I was thus guarded, thus protected, I dwelled
in fear β agitated, distrustful, and afraid. But now, on going alone to a
forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, I dwell without fear,
unagitated, confident, and unafraid β unconcerned, unruffled, my wants
satisfied, with my mind like a wild deer. This is the meaning
I have in mind that I repeatedly exclaim, ‘What bliss! What bliss!’”
Then, on realizing the
significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:
In whom there exists no provocation, & for whom becoming &
non-becoming are overcome, he is one β beyond fear, blissful, without grief,
whom the devas can’t see.
Please SMS the following:
In
whom there exists no provocation,&for whom becoming&non-becoming are
overcome,he is one-beyond fear,blissful,without grief,whom the devas can’t
see.-Buddha
Plz
read Ms.Mayawatiji’s proposal to divide UP into 4 States that goes far beyond
disturbing the State’s politics in FRONTLINE News Magazine cover story.