India is at a crucial stage in its history today. On the one hand scientific and technological advances in every field have helped in placing the country almost on par with the developed countries of the world. On the other hand rampant corruption and indifference to values of life threaten to destroy the country.
People from other countries invaded and plundered India for more than a century. An attempt was made to destroy everything that is Indian. This country withstood every attempt aimed at wiping out its culture and heritage.
But today this country is being destroyed from within. Pursuit of wrong policies by senseless and selfish politicians for more than six decades after independence has led to the current situation.
But we take pride in being the largest democracy in the world. Can the people of such a great country simply pass the buck on to politicians? Are we not responsible for voting them to power? If we elect criminals as our leaders we should be prepared to get cheated and looted by them.
It is high time the educated people of this country give up their cynicism, apathy and indifference to the welfare of the nation. This has become a country of selfish and self centered people.
Indian civilization is at least ten thousand years old. Our ancestors were extremely wise and gave us enormous information on various branches of knowledge. Scientists are beginning to realize that many of the modern inventions and discoveries were known to ancient Indians and are mentioned in the ancient scriptures of this land. The fact that earth is spherical was well known to ancient Indians before modern science realized it.
The law of gravity, velocity of light, speed of rotation of earth, many mathematical equations have all been mentioned in the ancient Indian scriptures. The Indian system of medicine (Ayurveda) is getting more and more attention in many developed countries. Scientists at NASA have observed that Sanskrit is the most perfect language in the world. Those who are interested in learning more may visit the website of Indian Institute ofScientific Heritage.
How could out Rishis understand all these matters without the use of any modern gadgets? They could do so by going to the source of everything namely the cosmic consciousness. They realized that man is essentially spiritual in nature and that human soul is actually a part of cosmic consciousness. By uniting oneself with the cosmic consciousness one could know anything.
Out of their infinite love for humanity the Rishis gave us the Vedas-scriptures containing information on various matters. They told us how to live in this world and gave guidelines on various aspects of life. They mentioned the four goals of life as Dharma (Righteous conduct), Artha (earning money), Kama (enjoyment of sensual pleasures) and Moksha (realizing ones true nature).
They exhorted the people to speak the truth and practice Dharma (Satyam vada; Dharmam chara). Today people of this country have thrown Dharma into dustbin. Truth is conspicuous by its absence. Hence our country is in such a bad shape today. That is why our scriptures say that a man devoid of Dharma is no better than an animal. Politicians, bureaucrats, professionals, businessmen have all eschewed Dharma. Corruption has affected even the judiciary.
Our scriptures say Yatha Raja Thatha Praja which means as is the king so are the citizens. But today we have adopted democratic form of government. This means the leaders reflect the society at large. Hence it is the duty of each and every Indian to be extremely careful is electing representatives at every level. We cannot allow our politicians to take us for a ride.
We should elect only people of unquestionable integrity. If we do not find any such person we should refuse to vote till the political parties field only such candidates.
There should be a nationwide movement to prevent those facing corruption or criminal charges from contesting elections. Media, NGOS, and retired honest IAS and IPS officers should reveal all the dirty secrets of those eagerly waiting to sit in state assemblies and the parliament so that they can loot the country.
The recent drive against corruption started by some eminent, responsible and patriotic persons is an important event in our history. Apart from a strong bill to fight corruption we should also demand the right to recall the elected representatives if their conduct is not above board.
In every constituency respectable people from different walks of life should come together forming a group of patriotic citizens. They should regularly call the local representatives to explain their contribution and future plans. Allegations against people’s representatives should be taken very seriously and properly investigated. Democracy does not come without a price. That price is our constant vigilance.
This country needs a moral and spiritual revolution at every level starting from individual families. Laws alone cannot change people. Parents and teaches should spend sufficient time for building character of children. Our educational system also needs reforms. The purpose of education is not just to give certificates to students so that they can start earning money but to make them good human beings.
The most important message of our Rishis is that earning money for the enjoyment of sensual pleasures is not the be all and end all of human life. Hence they laid down the goals of life as Dharma (Rightcous conduct), Artha (earning money), Kama (enjoyment of pleasures) and Moksha (Realizing ones true nature). They declared that man is essentially spiritual in nature and that the soul survives the death of the gross body.
Today we have overwhelming scientific evidence for the existence of soul and reincarnation. Many eminent psychologists, psychiatrists and scientists from other fields are firmly convinced that death of the physical body is not the end of our existence. Psychiatrists are even using past life regression to find out the cause of anxiety and fears in patients. Those who want to know more about the scientific evidence for the existence of the soul may visit Scientific evidence for the afterlife.
We reap what we sow. We face the consequences of our actions- if not in this life in the next one. Only firm faith in this cosmic law will prevent people from committing all sorts of crimes.
Recent advances in quantum physics have only confirmed what our scriptures say about the nature of the universe. Leading scientists accept that consciousness is not a product of matter but produces matter. Long before Einstein found out that matter and energy are one and the same our Rishis declared that the entire cosmos is just one entity. Ancient Indian wisdom has stood the test of time.
Every Indian can feel proud of his heritage. It is the duty of every Indian to learn about the ancient wisdom of this country which is always relevant and also encourage others to learn about it. Our scriptures declare that god is one and people can call him by any name. If this message spreads to every nook and corner of the world the senseless violence in the name of religion will come to an end. Indians have always believed is peaceful co existence. We believe is praying for all the people of the world. We have never prayed to god to bless only our country.
But Indians can learn many good things from people of other countries. We need to be more disciplined and punctual. We should keep our public places clean and stop spitting indiscriminately. We should have zero tolerance for littering.
We should try to develop good systems in all sectors. Everyone should try to follow the system and not try to subvert, misuse and exploit the system for personal gain. We should always be aware of our duties and the rights of others. We should keep the interest of the country above personal interest at all times. No one should even think of trying to thrive at the cost of the country. If the country is sick we cannot be happy.
The need for combining science and spirituality is particularly relevant in today’s world. Science alone cannot make man happy. Hence our ancestors always advised us to make use of science for solving worldly problems but make use of spirituality to experience peace and happiness.
The time has come for all Indians to unite and rejuvenate India. This country has the potential to become a world leader. Let us pledge to lead lives based on the values this country has cherished since time immemorial-Truth, Righteous conduct, Peace, Love and Non-violence. Having rejuvenated our country let us lead the rest of the world from untruth to truth, darkness to light and from mortality to immortality. Jai Bharath.
