THE MAN WITHOUT SORROWS:RETRACING INDIA’S FORGOTTEN PAST

             

                  Being the land where multiple religions –founders lived; does anyone of you believe that there exists a total utopian religious serenity in India, the presumed ‘lighthouse of the world’? Leave the present, do you believe such things existed in ancient India? You must surely have heard someone speaking of a grand ancient India where everything was perfect. Well then, here is the true tale of religious intolerance, vandalism and 'communalism' in ancient India, the land of god and god men (and god women too!).

                  Among her 121 billion humans, how many knows the fact that the most prosperous golden age of India was Buddhist and not Hindu-based?

The misconception that Hinduism glorified ancient India is dangerously and extensively used today for many purposes; from the election campaigns of right wing Hinduism-based parties to the spreading of a Hindu version of jihad by fanatics is quite, what you say…… ya, LOL!

                 Chandragupta Maurya, India’s first grand empire builder, though born as a Hindu, lived and died as a true Jain follower.Asoka, India’s first super emperor lived and died as a staunch Buddhist.Then how can someone today say that India is a Hindu nation, right from the ancient times of grand rulers and that all others are mere refugees?

                 Luckily, not all have forgotten Buddhism’s gift to ancient India .They repaid a bit of it, at least the forerunners of a free India who choose Buddha’s DHARMACHAKRA as the coat of arms in India’s national flag and the four faced lion capital of Asoka as the national insignia. Ah! At least the simple interest is paid back. 

               And when you talk about India’s past, a distant past where time is not yet a metaphor, you cannot skip the tales of Emperor Asoka, the greatest of them all. And that’s what this book is about, recounting the lost tales of Asoka.

           Can you simply believe that almost 2000 years before mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela Or Martin Luther King Jr., there once lived a great human, that too a powerful emperor, who preached the idea of universal brotherhood, total peace and religious equality, considering all the subjects of his empire equal irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or financial background? Just know that his Chinese, Arab, African and Greek contemporaries were behaving savagely, tearing each other to pieces.

           Charles Allen, employing various solid examples prove how Asoka (literally a man without sorrows) also known as ‘DEVANAMAPRIYAPRIYADASI’ in his edicts, qualifies to become history’s first emperor to build his empire solely upon the basis of religious unity and peace rather than continuous battles.

          To know his greatness, just think how many rulers of the world after him had achieved total religious unity within their empires or kingdoms? Even now, is it happening in any of your countries? Maybe, if you are from the Vatican or the Arabian Peninsula.

            Historical records show us that after the battle of kalinga, his empire almost doubled in size. After that battle, he converted into Buddhism and then he never fought or ordered any war in all his remaining life. Yet, never did the sovereignty of his empire weaken. He even had strong political and religious ties established with the kingdom of Tamrapani (modern day Sri Lanka).

           So if any one of you need to know the actual history of the Indian subcontinent, then go for this book, which recounts how jealous aristocratic Hindu pundits were and how they erased off India’s golden Buddhist history, to claim a Hindu based utopia (to such an extent that people of  the 17^th and 18^th century believed that the Ashokan pillars were the walking sticks of Bhīma, a central character in the epic Mahabharata!!!)

IDEAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS OF TODAY, WAIT, IS IT?

                   Accidentally and fortunately, I came across two different stories, about a same theme, on a single day, in two different books (one actually my graduation guide!), on a long train journey. They eventually made me a social thinker, and later a social activist.

            One among them is a chapter from Gandhiji’s autobiography-‘My Experiments With Truth’, titled ‘As School Master’, the other a small play by a Hungarian Fritz karinthy.

 

         Coincidence or not both of them have a lot of similarities, though they preach ideas that are at two different poles. Both were written by contemporary writers, Gandhiji who lived from 1869 to 1948 and karinthy who lived during 1887-1938.the former wrote initially in Gujarati and was translated into English later. Karinthy’s play was also initially in his mother tongue Hungarian and later translated to English. But the main part is, both are centered on the theme of educational systems, with Gandhiji demonstrating an ideal system and karinthy criticizing the modern concept of education.

        ‘As Schoolmaster’ depicts how the ancient and traditional gurukula system of education is still feasible (at least in countries with low populations, especially some third world countries). He preaches the idea that every child gets true form of education from his/her home. In his ideas, the teacher should take all his students under one roof and teach them many things (whatever he knows) for a specified period of time.

Unfortunately this form of education is not possible in many ‘ultramodern-junkie’ nations of today. But at least some countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America can benefit from such form of education, were children generally being illiterate soon takes to illegal affairs  like drug trafficking.

      As for karinthy’s play, the modern and conventional mode of education only instills knowledge into a child, most of them being useless and impractical in daily life. Almost all students turn into a selfish, cold and heartless adult, just to survive the unending competition with their peers. They are not taught to be practical. THEY JUST SURVIVE THEIR LIFE, NOT LIVE THEIR LIFE. 

          Here is a small extract from that play which perfectly depicts the true absurdity of our educational systems:

           The mathematics master:” …… if we represent the speed of light by X and the distance of the star Sirius from the sun by Y, what is the circumference of the 109 sided regular polyhedron whose surface coincides with that of the hip pocket of a state railway employee whose wife has been cheating him for 2 years and 11 months with a regimental major of Hussars?”

The wasserkopf (student):”of course, I know it, naturally, I know it. I’ll tell you. Two thousand six hundred and twenty-nine liters! Exact. And no fractions.”

The mathematics master:”No, the answer is wrong .the correct answer is 2688 liters, not 2669!”

WOW! A Perfect student and A perfect teacher!

              So, the question of the moment is, are schools and universities across our  planet sending out creatures every year that stands on two legs with a huge brain on top, but no heart? Are we creating a future filled with human machines to counter the computers? Is that what you really mean by ‘ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE’?.............................Food for thought!

WAR IN ART AND LITERATURE: LINKING ‘GUERNICA’ AND ‘ANTHEM FOR THE DOOMED YOUTH’

'GUERNICA:THE PAINTING'

                 Wars, especially the world wars, had been the central theme of many paintings, poems, short stories and novels of all languages and all nationalities throughout the 20^th century.Among them, what struck me the most is “GUERNICA’ by Pablo Picasso and ‘ANTHEM FOR THE DOOMED YOUTH’, a poem by Wilfred Owen.Both the works expresses extreme hatred for war, which reflects the disturbed mental state of their respective creators.

              While ‘Guernica’ conveys the message in a harsh tone, ‘Anthem For Doomed Youth’ dwells in a melancholy reflective mood, a helplessness.

   The opening lines of the poem:

          “What passing bells for those who die as cattle,

            Only the monstrous anger of the guns.”

 Shows the total uselessness of wars and its victims, who dies without any specified reasons.

           Similar is the staging of Guernica. The work was Picasso’s reaction to the aerial bombing and mass destruction of Guernica, a Spanish town by the Italian fascist in 1937. Picasso skillfully managed to blend Christian iconography with Spanish folk culture, showing the impact of war on all the spheres of the victimized society. The painting portrays a helpless women rushing from a building, her arms thrown wide. Agonized heads and arms emerge from the war wreckage .in the leftmost corner, a mother holding a dead infant looks upward, screaming with unbearable anguish. The invincible bull above her head (the pagan mythological creature Minotaur) symbolizes the heartless fascist, enjoying the unfolding scene of destruction from above.

The dying horse drawn from the bullfight depicts the torment of the Spanish race. The oil lamp held high shows their resistance against the forces of fascism, which in turn is metaphorically represented as a mechanized eye whose iris is actually an electric bulb.

WILFRED OWEN

         Thus, the actively expressed horrors of war in Guernica equate the actively represented agony of war in Owens’s poem, since agony, horror and hatred are all the natural reaction to a devastating war. 

          Wilfred Owen ones declared” My subject is war and the pity of war. The poetry is in the pity.”A parallel conclusion can also be drawn out of Guernica: "Its inspiration is war and the horrors of war. The theme lies in the horrors of it!"

 

         Though Guernica directly portrays the horrors of the aerial bombing and its immediate effect on people and Owens’s poem exposes the meaninglessness of funerals prepared for a dead soldier, both works are alike, by revealing the true realities of meaningless wars, especially the world wars to the world. The painting portrays the agony of humanity torn between life and death whereas the poem ‘Anthem For The Doomed Youth’ represents the useless deaths of myriad soldiers through useless wars. 

     Though almost a century after their completion, both the works of human imagination continue to inspire and fascinate thousands around the world –especially Guernica, since a painting doesn’t need the tools of any language to communicate!

THE EYES OF THE SPHINX: EVIDENCES OF AN ALIEN CONTACT IN ANCIENT EGYPT

           Book lovers, if you need a book that could change the way you think of the world, then go for the Swiss master Erich Von Daniken’s ‘The Eyes Of The Sphinx’.

 

                It’s a sequel to his earlier work ‘Chariots Of Gods?’ that talks about the extraterrestrial contact in ancient Egypt. Of course it’s just a conspiracy theory. But it is the most acceptable and incredible unproven theory that I had come across in my life so far.

           The book mainly deals with the great pyramid of Giza and the impossibility of it being a manmade wonder. Citing many examples, Daniken had also criticized several Egyptologists of today for not permitting advanced scientific researches on the pyramids. They even let the world believe blindly that the builder of the great pyramid was Pharaoh Khufu, despite of the insufficient evidences.

            The most horrendous part about the book is, if the Egyptian connection with an alien race is true, then are we still not alone in this universe? If not so, then the consequences would be beyond an average mind’s imagination.

Will they again try to make contact with us? Or are they still having a link with someone somewhere in this planet like the Roswell theories. If answer to any of this question is positive, then there are only two possible futures for us: a utopia of technological advancements or total extinction!

              All details explained by Daniken awake us to think about such things. Apart from these the book also talks about a special and strange phenomenon called the pyramid effect that we ourselves could experiment safely.

             Daniken also recounts the chronicles of famous Greek and roman historians like Herodotus, Strabo and Pliny that are related to ancient Egypt. He was also able to extract the knowledge of a giant Egyptian labyrinth form their chronicles. the labyrinth is said to  be a splendor far greater than the great pyramid ,adjacent to an artificial lake of 600km diameter. Yet no such huge sites have been discovered so far. Where did this mammoth labyrinth and lake disappear into?

            The complexities for constructing the great pyramid within the established factor limits are also explained in this book which actually seems quite genuine. Then how can the world generally believe that the great pyramid is man made wonder?

             Seriously friends, just for a few dollars, you could change your outlook on the general history of humanity. Even the strongest haters of Egyptology would start to prefer the topic once they complete this book. And you are bound to become a Daniken fan just like me!

WHAT ACTUALLY DID THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS IMITATE?

Source Of Knowledge: THE EYES OF SPHINX (1996)

Author: ERICH VON DANIKEN (Switzerland)

                   Have anyone of you ever thought of this before: after completing the construction of the great pyramid at Giza, the Egyptians needed light to design and make interior chambers and vaults for the pharaoh and his accessories. They need some light in that pitch darkness. So what, some kind of an oil lamp. The thing is, experts have never been able to locate even a slightest trace of soot or burned ash in that pyramid. Now what? Electricity??!

              To all those who think I might be joking, look thoroughly at the following image. It’s the photograph of a wall inscription at Dendera, Egypt, insider a subaltern chamber of goddess Hathor’s temple. The temple itself is no grand sight. This wall etching makes it world famous.

It depicts an Egyptian common folk holding g a bulb shaped object in which a snake (filament) is crawling. The bulb shaped object and the snake ends in a lotus shaped structure (socket) from which a cable leads to a small box on top of which a cable leads to a small box on top of which the god of air is kneeling. A lamp like object with two forked hands support the filament (maybe an insulator).the insular shaped objects are called Djed pillar, a symbol for eternity in ancient Egypt.

Many ancient Greek chroniclers speak of the Egyptian reverence to these pillars tracing back its origin to their very gods. Surprisingly, these pillars have a very close resemblance to our modern day transformers.

Daniken’s books state that some advanced alien race, who made contact with the ancient Egypt, transferred the knowledge of electricity to the local floks. Out of fear and reverence, the alien electrical equipments later become religious symbols, parallel with aliens who became gods.

The picture alongside depicts pharaoh Amenhotep IV with his wife Nefertiti their three naked children all of them with deformed skulls (displayed at museum of Ica in Peru)

Was this a natural condition or was it induced. Some bizarre hieroglyphs talks of a custom in ancient Egypt where priests deformed the skulls of the pre-puberty children using brutal force. This was their way of making offerings to their hero-gods. Imitations-just like how we imitate the styles of our favorite film stars. Archeological excavations at Peru uncovered many such force fully deformed skulls.  

For any of my readers who frown upon such an idea of imitations let me tell you about a small story:

When a Russian, Maclay, arrived with his ship Vitiaz in Bonju, Papua New Guinea on 1871, the locals watched him skeptically. Once they saw him walking around at night with a lantern and from then on, they were convinced he was from the moon and he was the moon god. They worshiped him and gave him the name TAMO ANUT, still a god among some tribes in Papua.

Similar occurrences have been reported from many parts of the world, especially from Oceania. Some of them also imitated our technologies like make stone models of ships, boats and small aircrafts that were previously unknown to them. They considered us superhuman simply because we were beyond their comprehensions.

If the humans of the 19^th and the 20th century could do such silly imitations, that what about the Egyptians who lived more than 4000 years ago? They could easily believe that the technically advanced alien race was beyond their comprehension and so they must be the gods.

So, were they actually imitating a superior alien race in many aspects .if no, then my article and Daniken’s books are waste of time. But, if yes, then think of its consequences. It will redefine our past, present and alter our future. Hollywood nightmares like ‘Predator’ or ‘2011: Battle Los Angels’ could become reality.

The questions is: are we all alone in this universe???