Sopanam - September 2013 1

Volume 3 Issue 6 15th September, 20135114 `m{Z]Zw

tk m ] m\ wtk m ] m\ wA Family-Magazine from SevA dArShAn KuwAit

For more information contact : Seva Darshan, Kuwait - INDEMB/KWT/ASSN/150Sevadarshan@gmail.com

Sopanam E-Magazine - (For members circulation only)

Sopanam - September 20132

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happy Onam wishes to all our readers.

Festivals are always meant for celebrations and sharing. Amidst celebrations we forget the sorrows and problems that we face. Onam has a special place is the heart of the people of Kerala. Various legends aside, it is a festival celebrated by the whole community without any differentiation of caste, culture or creed. Countries in the Middle East, the celebrations go until October and sometimes even November. The story of Mahabali is an eye opener for us. Along with the message of being a king, a good administrator and good human being, God had to give him a lesson to take out his ego. Likewise we must remember that wealth may come and go, but our good character alone is what brings us wealth, knowledge, prosperity and good health.

At the same time, we cannot ignore the harsh realities of the turbulent times our nation is passing through. With many underlying factors determining how our economy flourishes, one cannot turn a blind

eye to the fact that it is an increased expenditure on foreign goods that is creating a substantial fall in the strength of the rupee against the US dollar. We must all be prepared to promote swadeshi goods to strengthen our domestic market and at the same time encourage people to invest more into manufacturing industry for domestic consumption. In this age of globalization, we must realize that the wise words of the nationalists who fought for our hard earned freedom, when they encouraged the establishment to develop a strong self-sufficient market system that would meet the needs of everyone. Yes, the domestic market is not competitive enough when it comes to quality and efficiency. But encouragement by way of increased sales will surely see positive results. Our economy has been able to withstand the pressures of global economic turbulence due to the saving culture of our families and the bond between family members who earn and spend for everyone. Another important factor is the role of the woman in our family who has been able to effectively control the expenditure of the households.

A very important judgment has been made in the case of atrocities against women in our nation. We salute the judiciary which has given a right message to society in how it will deal with heinous crimes in the future. India needs a visible change and a strong administration to get over the crisis of scams, murder, riots and third rate politics. Only then we can concentrate our abilities on developing a stronger nation. With strong decisions being taken in the political arena we hope the results of 2014 will usher to a new era in the politics of the nation thereby marking a change in the mood of the nation.

Seva Darshan is back to its activities after the long vacation and our families are all back to join us in our celebrations. Bala Darshan and Yuva Darshan classes have resumed at all units. Along with Onam all our members are also celebrating the utsav of Guru Pooja at all our units in the true spirit of sharing a portion our resources and earnings with the society and nation that needs our support. On October 6th, International Seva Day is being celebrated across the globe. We encourage everyone to participate by conducting activities that ensure all sections of society is reached.

Editorial

editorial BoardKrishna Kumar PaliathVibheesh TikkodiAnandharaj KonniReshmy Krishna Kumar

data ManagementAjaykumar AnjaneyamRajarajan GanesanGopakumar. PSindhu SanjithSuresh VarickolilRoopesh R. SouparnikaAdv.Vidhya SumodDr. Sindu SudheeshShyny Biju NavadeepDivya Satheesh KumarakamAnuradha Sundara RamanAnju PrasadArun Kumar. NVishal VikramRagesh RegunathRaghiya MenonSheeja AnandPraveen V.

Creative & designSreenivasan C.P.Vinaya Babu. C.K.Sunil PookodeDeepa Namboothiri

For Comments, Submissions & Subscriptions please write toemail : vbkuwait@gmail.com

Sopanam - September 20134

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Sopanam - September 20136

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Ganesh Chaturthi is the birthday of Lord Ganesh, the son of Shiva & Parvati. Ga-nesh Chaturthi or Ganesh Utsav falls on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (around August-September). It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

How to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi

To celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi you re-quire an idol of Lord Ganesha. This particular idol will be used in the puja or worship that lasts for odd number of days (from 1 to 11 days, sometimes 13). During the festival, puja is performed twice every day - once in the morning and again in the evening. The Gane-

Vinayaka Chaturthisha idol is offered sweets and fruits and wor-shipped in the way. Lord Ganesha is known for his fondness for food and the main sweet-dish during the festival is modhak and karan-jis. This is known as modhagam [kozhakottai] in South India. A modhak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of coconut, jaggery and some other condiments. It can be either steam-cooked or fried and the coconut can be fresh/dry grated. A karanji is similar but has the shape of the 4th day moon. Modhak means "That which gives (or brings) happiness".

Recipes for making different Modhaks or kozhakottai - Sweet, Salt, Sesame, Hot/Kaara

The festival comes to an end with the visar-jan ceremony. On this day, the idols of Gane-sha are taken from various pandals, doorsteps, localities and puja rooms for a truly royal ride. Processions of people carry the idol to a riv-er, lake or ocean and immerse the idols there hoping for them to return early next year.

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Sopanam - September 2013 7

Today Ganesha Festival is also a street fes-tival where every street owners collectively celebrate the festival. Compete with each other in a healthy way to have the best decorations and celebrations. A lot of cultural activities, songs, dramas and orchestra. In Karnataka, the day before Ganesh Chaturthi is assigned for Gowri Puja, when Ganesha's mother, God-dess Gowri or Parvati, is worshipped. The day is especially auspicious to married women, who pray to the Goddess for lasting marital bliss. Here the festival is also known as Gowri Ganesha.

Don't see the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi

The Legend goes that once, Ganesha ac-cidentally tripped and fell, breaking one of his tusks in the process (this is also said to be one of the reasons for Ganesha's half or missing tusk). Chandradev (Moon God) saw this and laughed. Ganesha, being the short-tempered one, cursed Chandradev that anyone who happens to see the moon will incur bad luck. Hearing this, Chandradev realised his folly and asked for forgiveness from Ganesha. Ganesha relented and since a curse cannot be revoked, only softened, Ganesha softened his

curse such that anyone who looks at the moon during Ganesh Chaturthi will be falsely ac-cused ccused of theft or crime. If someone ac-cidently sees the moon on this night, he/she may remedy the situation by listening to (or reciting) the story of the syamantaka jewel found in the Puranas.

The story summary is as follows, Satrajit, who secured a jewel syamantaka from Surya (Sun God), did not part with it even when Krishna the Lord of Dvaraka, asked for it say-ing it would be safe with him. Prasena, the brother of Satrajit went out hunting wearing the jewel but was killed by a lion. Jambavan of the Ramayana fame killed the lion and gave it to his son to play with. When Prasena did not return, Satrajit falsely accused Krishna of kill-ing Prasena for the sake of the jewel. Krishna, in order to remove the stain on his reputation, set out in search of the jewel and found it in Jambavan's cave, with his child. Jambavan at-tacked Krishna thinking him to be an intruder who had come to take away the jewel. They fought each other for 28 days, when Jamba-van, his whole body terribly weakened from the blows of Krishna's fists, finally recognized Him as Lord Rama.

As a repentance for him having fought Krishna, Jambavan gave Krishna the jewel and also his daughter Jambavati in marriage. Krishna returned to Dvaraka with the jewel, and returned it to Satrajit, who in turn repent-ed for his false accusation. He promptly of-fered to give Krishna the jewel and his daugh-ter Satyabhama in marriage. Krishna accepted Satyabhama as his wife but did not accept the jewel.

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The often perceived and frequently quoted racial division in India between the fairer Aryan North and the darker Dravidian South is pernicious and dangerous. The British gave currency to this view of racial divide in India. It was part of their “divide and rule” strategy. The Northern people in India got especially sucked into this interpretation of history because it made the “Aryan” northerners appear racially closer to the white races of Europe. This viewpoint is also popular in Sri Lanka, where the Singhalese believe that they are descendants of Aryans from the North of India and that Tamils of Sri Lanka are not.

This short article summarizes recent scholarship on the Aryan invasion theory. New interpretations of ancient Indian history do not accept the view that Aryans entered India from the outside. New information rejects the notion that the Dravidian people were the conquered races, or that the Dra-vidians were pushed down south by the invading Aryans.

Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950), a scholar of Latin and Greek as well as of Sanskrit, debunked this theory of the North-South racial divide in India. Sri Aurobindo did not subscribe to the theory that the languages of North and South India are unrelat-ed. Sri Aurobindo’s study of the Tamil led him to discover that the original connection between the Sanskrit and Tamil languages was “far closer and more extensive than is usually supposed.” These languages are “two divergent families derived from one lost primitive tongue.” And, “My first study of Tamil words had brought me to what seemed a clue to the very origins and structure of the ancient Sanskrit tongue.” –See The Secret of the Veda, V 10, the Centenary Edition, p 36, 46. Sri Aurobindo also noted that a large part of the vocabulary of the

South Indian languages (Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam) is common with Sanskrit.

For anyone who seriously wishes to pursue the topic of north-south division in India in the light of Sri Aurobindo, I recommend K. D. Sethna’s The Problem of Aryan Origins, New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1980 and 1992. Also recommended are the following two titles. Rewriting Indian History by Francois Gautier, New Delhi, Vikas Publishers, 1996, and The Invasion That Never Was by Mi-chael Danino and Sujata Nahar, published by Mira Aditi, 1996.

Hindus collectively have no memory of an Ary-an invasion of India that supposedly took place around 1,500 B.C. Hindu epics do not mention any such invasion. Surely, the extensive Hindu lit-erature would describe the Aryan invasions if such had indeed taken place.

Some people misread Ramayana as describing an invasion of the South by a Northern prince. The Indian epic Ramayana narrates Rama’s tale, who invaded the Island of Lanka to rescue his wife Sita. Sita had been forcibly abducted by Ravana

dr. Madan Lal Goel University Of West Florida

The Myth of the AryanInvasion of India

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to the island of Lanka. Nowhere does Ramayana characterize Ravana as belonging to an alien or an inferior race. Ravana was a scholar of the Vedas and was called a Chaturvedi, a knower of the four Vedas. Ravana belonged to the same stock as the victorious Rama.

People who give credence to an Aryan inva-sion of India cite archeological evidence as proof. Among the thousands of clay seals that have been found in the region of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (the sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, suppos-edly the home originally of the Dravidian people), no seals depict the horse or the wheel. In contrast, Aryans were known to have the horse and the chariot. From this evidence it is concluded that the Aryans conquered the people of the Indus valley through the use of the chariot and the horse. K. D. Sethna in his book cited above disputes this evi-dence. Some seals depicting the wheel have indeed been discovered at the Harappan archeological sites. The wheel was known to the people of the Indus Valley.

Francois Gautier cites recent research which indi-cates that the script on the Indus seals is of Sanskrit lineage. This proves that the people of Harappa be-longed to a much older Vedic age.

The recent discovery of the dried-up Saraswati river further negates the Aryan invasion theory. Satellite photography from outer space shows the existence of a dried-up river bed in Northern India. The archeological evidence indicates that the river dried up several thousand years ago, much before

1,500 B.C., the date ascribed to Aryan invasions. Saraswati is mentioned numerous times in the Ve-dic scriptures of the Aryans, indicating that these people lived in India during very ancient times.

Recent DNA evidence further negates the Aryan invasion theory. Dr. Subhash Kak summarizes re-cent research as follows:

Advances in genetics have made it possible to trace ancient migrations. It is now generally ac-cepted that modern man arose in Africa about 200,000 years ago and from there spread first into India and Southeast Asia by coastal migration that probably included some boat crossings. There are several estimates of the time when this spread into India took place. According to the geneticist Ste-phen Oppenheimer, settlements in India appear about 90,000 years ago. From India there were lat-er northeastern and northwestern migrations into Eurasia and the Far East.

The new findings turn on its head the previous view of the origin of Indians. The earlier view, popular in Indian history books, was that the Indian population came in two waves from the northwest around four or five thousand years ago, displacing the earlier aboriginals, descendents of regional ar-chaic groups. . .

The new view is that subsequent to the rise of modern mankind in Africa, it found a second home in India, which is the point of migration for the populations of Europe, North Africa, China and Japan. The migrants in India slowly adapted to the

dr. Madan Lal Goel University Of West Florida

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wide climatic conditions in the sub-continent (from the tropical to the extreme cold of the Himalayan region) leading to the rise of the Caucasoid and the Mongoloid races. . .

When the theory of the Aryan invasions into In-dia is replaced by an “Out of India” viewpoint, one can readily explain regularities in languages that are spread widely. Linguists see connections be-tween India and languages that extend to distant lands. Dr. Kak’s full article may be viewed at: http://www.sulekha.com/column.asp?cid=306006 . An invasion of India from the outside around 1,500 B. C. did not occur. Recent scholarship does not deny that the people in India had relations with other Indo-European people in Asia and Europe. There was a belt stretching from India to the Medi-terranean inhabited by a people who spoke related languages, known as the Indo-European languages. Sanskrit is the oldest known language in this fam-ily and may appropriately be called as the Mother of Indo-European languages. English is an Indo-European language.

Those who seek to foster the unity of India need to emphasize its unity, not its division. In the great cultural and religious history of India, important contributions have come forth from every region in the nation. The vast Ganga-Jamuna plain in the North of India is indeed the ancient heartland of Hinduism. This is the seat of Ayodhya (Bihar), Mathura and Vrindavan (UP), Kurukshetra (Hary-ana), and Indraprasatha (Delhi). The Great Mahab-harata war was fought in the northern plains.

The 8th to the 13th century revival in Hinduism originated in the South. Sankaracharya from Ker-ala laid the foundation of modern day Hinduism. Sankara traveled to many parts of India and estab-lished centers of teaching and learning in various parts of the country. Sankara wrote extensive com-mentaries on Brahma Sutras, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, which are standard texts for Hin-dus. Ramanuja fromTamilnad and Madhava from Karnataka initiated the Bhakti movement, which

spread to many parts of the country, both North and South. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from Bengal, Mirabai from Rajasthan, Tulsidas from U.P, Guru Nanak from Punjab, Jnaneshwar from Maharash-tra, Jaideva (author of Gita Govinda) from Orissa, have all contributed to Hindu religion.

The four Hindu holy places and pilgrimage sites (Tirathas and Dhams) at Badri Nath, Ramesh-waram, Puri, and Dwarka are located in four cor-ners of India: north, south, east and west. Every pi-ous Hindu aspires to visit the four Dhams in one’s lifetime.

Some people equate Sanskrit with Hindi lan-guage and the Devanagri script. According to Swa-mi Dayananda Saraswati, founder of Arsha Vidya Gurukulum in Pennsylvania and a Sanskrit scholar, Sanskrit language originally did not have its own script. It was written in a variety of local scripts. The writing of Sanskrit in the Devanagri script is a later development in history.

An Aryan invasion of India from the outside around 1,500 B. C. did not occur. People of North and South India have lived together in peace as two branches of one family since antiquity. People who talk of an Aryan conquest of India the 19th century British viewpoint and do disservice to the cause of unity of India.

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One Of The Oldest And Greatest Classical Languages In The World

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As a young teenage girl, I was a little apprehen-sive when my parents told me that we were going to meet a saint. Even though brought up in a house where we did pooja every day and God was placed in a revered place in our hearts, I wondered whether it was necessary to meet someone, who everybody said was a saint .I felt I was at a stage, when know-ing the lyrics of cinema songs was more important and necessary than knowing bhajans and stuthies.

I remember walking into the big grounds in Gujarat and seeing Amma sitting on stage giving darshan to everybody, she was smiling all the time and I wondered how she knew so many people?! As I joined the darshan queue I thought to myself if Amma was really who they said she was, she would be able to read my mind and tell me what I was thinking.

As I got closer and the music became louder, my heart started beating rapidly. Suddenly the first thing that hit me was a divine fragrance and then I could not hear any more music. I felt like every-thing around me was going into stand still as Amma hugged me and rested my head on her bosom.

It was like coming back home and then Amma whispered in to my ears what I had thought about earlier. Then it clicked for me that she had arrived, yes Devi had come. I remember my eyes gushing with tears when I realized I found a deep connec-tion with Amma that I had not felt with anybody else.

18 years later that connection has grown stron-ger, and I try to search for the same frequency in everybody, as Amma says that the divine resides in all.

Today Mata Amritanandamayi Devi or Amma, as she is more commonly known as, has not only

become a beacon of hope and relief to this world, where suffering thrives, but has also become some-body who teaches by example. Millions of people who follow her all over the world do so because Amma loves and cares for everybody alike without any discrimination as to where they come from or what they believe in.

In this simple yet powerful way Amma transforms every heart into a flower of love, one embrace at a time. In the past 40 years Amma has physically hugged more than 33 million people from all over the world and continues to do so.

Amma’s 60th Birthday to be celebrated on 27th September at Amritapuri. There are many charitable projects would be launched during this occasion, including a massive relief and rehabilitation proj-ect worth `50 crore in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand and a programme to adopt 101 villages across the country. This 'Amrita Swasrayagramam' project would ensure that every villager has a proper home and that the villages have school buildings, com-munity halls and street lighting.

Amma's unfathomable acts of dedication is the only backbone behind all these charitable activities through which people are experiencing a profound peace and inner fulfillment, never felt before, that arises from selfless acts of service. This is the true nature of 'Manava Seva Madhava Seva'.

My Beloved Amma

Sandhya Menon

Sandhya Menon

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Raksha Bandhan is a popular festival celebrated across the country. Irrespective of caste and creed people from all walks of life participate in this fes-tival. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the lunar month Shravana (Shravana Poornima) which also coincides with Upa-karma (changing the sacred thread for the brahmins, Avani Avittom in South In-dia).

The festival is also called as Rakhi Poornima, Nariyal Poornima and Kajari Poornima in different states and is celebrated differently.

On the occasion of this festival sisters generally apply tilak to the forehead of their brothers, tie the sacred thread called Rakhi to the wrist of their broth-ers and do arati and pray for their good health & long life. This thread, which represents love and sublime sentiments, is called the ‘Raksha Bandhan’ means ‘a bond of protection’. The brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her. Before tying a Rakhi on their brothers hand the sisters first tie a Rakhi on the Tulasi plant and the another Rakhi on the peepal tree asking for the protection of nature – Vriksha Raksha Bandhan.

The concept of Raksha Bandhan is mainly that of protection. Commonly we find people going to the priests in temples and getting a sacred thread tied to their hands. We find this in the temple of Kala Bhairava at Varanasi where people get a black thread tied to their wrist. Similarly at Sri Vaishnodevi Tem-ple in Jammu, we find people tying red band to their forehead after worshipping the Goddess.

In Hindu religious functions we observe the preist tying a thread to the wrist of person/s performing the ritual before its commencement. It is believed and said that even Yagnopaveetam (sacred thread across the chest) acts as a Raksha (protection) to the wearer if one maintains its sanctity.

In the concept of Marriage, Mangala Sutra (tied around the neck of the bride) and Kankana Bandha-na (a thread tied to the wrist of the bride and groom by each other) also has a similar inner significance.

The tying of a Rakhi is not confined to a broth-er and sister. It could also be tied by a wife to her

husband, or by a disciple to the Guru. This bond does not have to be between blood relatives – a girl might adopt a boy as her brother through the tying of a Rakhi. This ritual not only strengthens the bond of love, but also transcends the boundaries of the family. When a Rakhi is tied on the wrists of close friends and neighbors, it underscores the need for a harmonious social life. This helps to broaden ones’ vision beyond the borders of ones own family to the entire earth (vasudha) as one family – Vasudhaiva kutumbakam.

Indra – Sachi Devi : As per Bhavishya Purana, In-dra the King of Devas was advised by Deva Guru Brihaspati to wear a Rakhi as a protection against enemies (Demons) when he was facing defeat at the hands of Vritra Asura. Accordingly Sachi Devi (consort of Indra) tied a Rakhi to Indra.

According to one mythological allusion, Rakhi was intended to be the worship of the sea-god Var-una. Hence, offerings of coconut to Varuna, ceremo-nial bathing and fairs at waterfronts accompany this festival. Usually fishermen offer coconut and rakhi to the Sea God Varuna – this festival is known as Nariyal Poornima.

It is said that when Alexander was defeated at the hands of the great Hindu King Purushottam of Pun-jab, Alexander’s wife tied a Rakhi to Purushottam to protect her husband from being slain.

During the days of Emperor Humayun, it is be-lieved that Rani Karnavati (Queen of Chittor) had sent a Rakhi to emperor Humayun in order to get protection from Bahadur Shah who was invading her kingdom. Inspite of being of a different religion, he rushed to her help.

Raksha Bandhan symbolizes the unmatched bond of love, care and respect. But in a broader perspec-tive the festival of Rakhi (Raksha Bandhan) con-veys an intrinsic message of universal brotherhood and sisterhood. Thus the festival of Rakhi conveys a message that has socio spiritual significance under-scoring the need for nurturing of positive qualities, purity in thought, word and deed.

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A Collection Of Thoughts

Bharat as a Rastra.‘Bharat’ denotes that this is our mother. In our

cultural tradition, the respectful way of calling a woman is by child’s name. So also is the case with the name ‘Bharat’ for our motherland. Bharata is an elder brother of ours. He was a noble, virtuous, victorious king and a shining model of our man-hood.

This is our sacred land, Bharat, a land whose glories are sung by the gods, a land visualised by Yogis as the living manifestation of the Divine mother of the universe, who has assumed concrete form to enable us to see Her and worship Her. A land eulogised by our great poets as the enchanting Goddess of the world, the land saluted by thou-sands of young hearts to cheerfully ascend to the gallows in the cause of her liberty during freedom struggle. A land worshipped by all our seers and sages as Mathrubhoomi, Dharmabhoomi, Karmab-hoomi and Punyabhoomi, a veritable Deva bhoomi and Mokshabhoomi

But there are persons who say that Indians did not know what motherland was. That they were all divided into various warring clans and princely states, that patriotism was unknown to them. This then becomes our second question – is the idea of India as a unit, a new idea brought by the British or did it exist long before the British came? Did the people of this vast land recognize that they were linked together? Did they share a common story of their civilization, of their Indian-ness, their Bharatiyata? Here we are trying to find out the

common scared thread that connects us and makes the remarkable.

Remarkably, the idea of India, as Bharatavarsha or Aryavrata, appears to have been alive for thou-sands of years in our culture, much before there was an America or a Great Britain or a Mexico or France.

All of us would have probably heard the words, ".....Jambudveepe Bharatha Varshe Bharata Khande....." during the sankalpa mantram which forms an integral part of all Vedic rituals.

What exactly is this "Jambudwipa"?

Jambudveepa consisted of modern Asia, Europe, Africa and North America and not merely the In-dian subcontinent.

This Jambudvipa was divided into nine varshas (geographical regions) of which one was Bharatha Varsha. The other eight varshas were:

2. Ketumula Varsha

3. Hari Varsha

4. Ilavrita Varsha

5. Kuru Varsha

6. Hiranyaka Varsha

7. Ramyaka Varsha

8. Kimpurusha Varsha

9. Bhadrasva Varsha.

India which was then called Bharathavarsha ex-tended in the west including the regions of modern Egypt, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Iran, Sumeria up

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to the Caspian Sea (which was called Kashyapa Samudra in those days). Within this Bharata Var-sha was located the Bharata Khanda which was the heart of the Vedic civilization & the place where we Indians currently reside. This is one of the in numerous proofs that the Indo-Aryan race theory is a conspiracy theory moulded by western coun-tries to show us in poor light. All of the regions so mentioned in the race theory are a part of Bharata Varsha & there was never a so called "invasion”. It can be observed that in those times, most of South American continent, southern half of African Con-tinent and entire Australia were submerged under water. On the other hand most of modern day At-lantic ocean and Pacific ocean, and the entire Arc-tic ocean were above sea level. This also proves the logical fallacy of the Western missionaries which claim that the Vedic civilization is just 5000 years old and the Kurukshetra war took place just a few thousand years back and so on.

From the Manusmriti, we learn of the land of Aryavrata stretching from the Himalayas and Vindhyas all the way to the eastern and western oceans. Without the idea of Bharata, there could have been no epic called the Maha-Bharata that en-gaged kings throughout this land of Bharata. The story of Mahabharata shows a remarkable degree of pan-Indian context and inter-relationships, from Gandhari, the wife of Drithrashtra who came from Gandhara, (spelled as Kandahar in present-day Af-ghanistan), Draupadi from Panchala (present day Jammu and Kashmir), all the way to Arjun meeting and marrying the Naga princess Uloopi on a visit to Manipur in the east. Interestingly, Arjuna is said to have gone on a pilgrimage to the holy places of the east when this happens, showing the current North-East was very much linked top ur civilisa-tion.The Mahabharta refers to Iraavat, the modern Irrawady valley, It refers to assam as Pragyothisha since the sun first rises there, In south, we have had

close links with Lanka. Finally, Krishna himself is from Mathura and Vrindavana (in UP) though his kingdom itself is in Dwarka (Gujarat).

Similarly, the story of Ramayana draws the north-south linkage from Ayodhya all the way down to Rameshwaram, at the tip of which is finally the land of Lanka. Note that it is not, for this particular thesis, important that the stories are historically ac-curate. What we are interested in rather is whether the idea of India or Bharatavarsha or Aryavrata as a culturally linked entity existed in the minds of the story-tellers and ultimately in the minds of the people to whom these stories were sacred. And these stories were then taken and told and retold in all the languages of the people of this great civi-lization, till the stories themselves established a linkage among us and to the sacred geography they celebrated. This sacred geography is what makes northerners flock to Tirupati and southerners to the Kumbha Mela.

And the diffusion of these common ideas was certainly not only from the north to south. The great Bhakti movement started in the 6th and 7th centuries AD had its roots in the south in the Tamil and Kannada languages. Even while the boundar-ies of kingdoms changed, enormous cultural and religious unity continued to take place across

The Bhakti movement retold our ancient stories in the language of the common people, in Mara-thi and Bengali, in Avadhi (present day UP) and Bhojpuri (present day Bihar), in Gujarati and Pun-jabi and in Rajasthani. We can marvel at the cultural unity in India, where while the Bhakti poets initiat-ed the great movement for devotion to Shiva in the south, the erudite philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism was being developed coevally in the north. Or that Kamban in the south was the first poet to take the story of Rama to the major regional languages, and Tulsidas, much closer to Ayodhya, came centuries

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later. Or that the great Krishna bhakta Chaitanya was celebrating his devotion to the King of Dwar-ka in Bengal while Tukaram sang praises of Lord Vithal in the west. An immense body of pan-Indian worship revolved around the triad of Vishnu, Shi-va and Shakti in their various forms – whether as Rama, Krishna, Sri Venkateshwara, Sri Dakshina-murti, Jagdamba, Durga Mata or Kali. These com-mon stories were told and retold without the man-date of any central church and seeped through the pores of the land of Bharata, forging a shared bond, unlike any other seen on the planet.

It was this idea of civilizational unity and sacred geography of India that inspired Shankaracharya to not only enunciate the mysteries of the Vedanta but to go around setting up mathas circumscribing the land of India in a large diamond shape. While sage Agasthya crossed the Vindhya and came down south, Shankracharya was born in the village of Kalady in Kerala and traveled in the opposite direction for the establishment of dharma. If this land was not linked in philosophical and cultural exchanges, and there was no notion of a unified nation, why then did Shankracharya embark on his countrywide digvijay yatra? What prompted him to establish centers spreading light for the four quadrants of this land – Dwarka in the west (in Gu-jarat), Puri in the east (in Orissa), Shringeri in the south (Karnataka) and Badrinath (Uttaranchal) in the north? He is then said to have gone to Srinagar (the abode of `Sri' or the Shakti) in Kashmir, which still celebrates this in the name of Shankaracharya Hill. What better demonstration that the idea of the cultural unity of the land was alive more than a thousand years ago?

And yet, these stories are not taught to us in our schools in India. We learn instead, in our colonial schools, that the British created India and gave us a link language, as if we were not talking to each

other for thousands of years, traveling, telling and retelling stories before the British came. How else did these ideas travel so rapidly through the land-mass of India, and how did Shankracharya circum-scribe India, debating, talking and setting up insti-tutions all within his short lifespan of 32 years?

These ideas of our unity have permeated all our diverse darshanas. We have talked about Bhakti and Vedanta and the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. But this idea of unity was not limited to particular schools. They were equally present in the tantric schools that exerted a tremendous influ-ence on popular worship. Thus we have the legend of Shakti, whose body was carried by Shiva and cut up by Vishnu, landing in 51 places throughout the landmass of India that are now the site of the Shakti Peetham temples. The body of Shakti, or so the story goes, fell all the way from Neelayadakshi Kovil in Tamil Nadu to Vaishno Devi in Jammu, from Pavagadh in Gujarat to the Kamakshi temple in Assam and 47 other places.

Why would the story conceive of these pieces of Shakti sanctifying and falling precisely all over the landmass of India, rather than all of them falling in Tamil Nadu or Assam or Himachal (or alternately, Yunan (Greece) or China, or some supposed `Ary-an homeland' in Central Asia) unless someone had a conception of the unity of the land and civiliza-tion of Bharatavarsha? Whether these stories are actual or symbolic, represent real events or myths, it is clear from them that the idea of India existed in the minds of those that told these stories and those that listened. Together, all these stories wove and bound us together, along with migration, mar-riages and exchange of ideas into a culture unique in the story of mankind. A nation that was uniquely bound together in myriads of ways, yet not cast into a mono-conceptual homogeneity of language, worship, belief or practice by the diktat of a cen-

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tralized church, intolerant of diversity.

Thus the Arabs and Persians already had a con-ception of Hind far before the Mughal Empire was established. If we suggest that their conception of Hind was derived only from their contact with Sindh in western India, why would the British, when they landed in Bengal, form the East India Company, unless the conception of the land of In-dia (a term derived from the original Hind) was shared by the natives and the British? They used this name much before they had managed to po-litically hold sway over much of India, and before they educated us that no India existed before their arrival. Why would the Portuguese celebrate the discovery of a sea-route to India when Vasco de Gama had landed in Calicut in the south, if India was a creation of the British Empire?

The answer is obvious. Because the conception of India, a civilization based in the Indian sub-con-tinent, predates the rise and fall of these empires. True, that large parts of India were under unified political rule only during certain periods of time (though these several hundreds of years are still enormous by the scale of existence of most other countries throughout the globe) such as under the Mauryas or the Mughals. But those facts serve to hide rather than reveal the truth till we understand the history of the rest of the world and realize the historic social, political and religious unity of this land. We are not merely a country; we are a civili-zational country, among very few other countries on the planet.

Punya Bhumi and Pitrubhumi.

Nothing can be holier to us than this land. Every particle of dust, everything living or non-living, every stock and stone, tree and rivulet of this land is holy to us. Even to this day, while taking bath we invokes the sacred rivers right from Ganga,Ya

muna,Godavari,Saraswati,Narmada and sindhu to Cauvery. An Indian looks upon this land as land of his forefathers (Pitribhu),who inherits the blood of the race whose descendible source be traced to the vedic sapthasindhus and address the land as his holy land (Punyabhumi) as the land of prophets and seers, of his God-men and Gurus, and the land of piety and pilgrimage.

So there we have it. India is one of the few na-tions of the world with a continuity of civilization and an ancient conception of nationhood. In its religious, civilization, cultural and linguistic con-tinuity, it truly stands alone. This continuity was fostered by its unique geography and its resilient religious traditions. We have ongoing creation of more states based on Linguistic and other regional merits .Let there be more states on any of these basis, if it make our vast nation more administra-tively easier .But let’s not forget that our nation is a living nation and all the other attributes as its limbs, united we stand and divided we fall.

vande Matharam.

”Aaasindo Sindhu Paryantham Yasyabharatha Bhoomikah Mathru Bhuh

Pithrubhoochaiva sah vai hindurithismrithaah”

Whoever considers the Bharatha Bhoomi between Sapta Sindu and the Indian Ocean, as his or her motherland and fatherland is known as Hindu.

“himalayam Samaarafya Yaavat hindu Sarovaram tham

devanirmmitham desham hindustanam Prachakshathe.”

The region between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean is called Hindustan.

Sopanam - September 201322

SpiritualismA²rmßnId

രൂപയുെട വിേദശവിനിമയ മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍ച്ച ആശങ്കാജനകമായി തുടരുകയാണ് . ആഗസ്റ്റ ് 28ന് േഡാളറിന് 68.80 രൂപയായി കൂ�കുത്തിയേതാെട െമ�ാസത്തിന് േശഷം രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്ത്തില്‍ ഇരുപത ് ശതമാനം കുറവുണ്ടായി. പിന്നീടത ് 65.70 രൂപയായി െമച്ചെപ്പ�െവങ്കിലും മൂലയ്ത്തിലുള്ള അസ്ഥിരത തുടരുകയാണ ്. രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍ച്ച ് കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മി ഇനിയും വര്‍ദ്ധിക്കാനും വിേദശകടബാധയ്ത വര്‍ദ്ധിക്കാനും ധനക്കമ്മി വര്‍ദ്ധിക്കാനും എ�ാറ്റിലുമുപരി െപേ�ാളിയം ഉത്പന്നങ്ങളുെട വിലവര്‍ദ്ധനയിലൂെട രൂക്ഷമായ വിലവര്‍ദ്ധനവിനും കാരണമാകും. ജൂണ്‍ മാസത്തിനുേശഷം ആഗസ്റ്റ ് 31 ന് 2.35 രൂപ വിലകൂടിയതട ക്കം 6.82 രൂപയാണ ് െപേ�ാള്‍ വിലവര്‍ദ്ധിപ്പിച്ചത ്. �ാേദശിക നികുതികൂടിേചര്‍ത്താല്‍ 8.50 രൂപയാണ ് വര്‍ദ്ധനവ ്. ഡീസല്‍വില ഇക്കാലത്ത ് 1.5 രൂപയായി വര്‍ദ്ധി�. ലിറ്ററിന് അ�രൂപ ഡീസലിനും 50 രൂപ ഗയ്ാസിനും ര�രൂപ മെണ്ണണ്ണ�ം വര്‍ദ്ധിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ എണ്ണക്കമ്പനികള്‍ സമ്മര്‍ദ്ദം െചലുത്തിവരികയാണ ്. ഇറ�മതി െച� ഘടകങ്ങളും അസം�ത പദാര്‍ത്ഥങ്ങളും ഉപേയാഗി�ന്ന ഇലേ�ാണി�് വാഹന നിര്‍മ്മാതാക്കള്‍ തുടങ്ങിയവെര�ാം വിലവര്‍ദ്ധന നടപ്പാക്കാനും തുടങ്ങിയി�ണ്ട് . അേതാെടാപ്പം കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മി സുരക്ഷിതമായ തലത്തിേലക്ക് കുറച്ചിെ�ങ്കില്‍ േററ്റിങ്ങ ് െവട്ടി�റ�െമന്ന ് അന്താരാ� േററ്റിങ്ങ ് ഏജന്‍സികള്‍ മുന്നറിയിപ്പ് നല്‍കിയി�ണ്ട് . 2008െല സാമ്പത്തിക മാന്ദയ്െത്ത മറികടക്കാന്‍ അേമരിക്കന്‍ െഫഡറല്‍ റിസര്‍വ്വ ് നടപ്പാക്കിയിരുന്ന സാമ്പത്തിക ഉേത്തജക പാേക്കജ് പിന്‍വലിേച്ച�െമന്ന ് ബാങ്ക ് െചയര്‍മാന്‍ െബല്‍ബര്‍ നാേങ്കയുെട (ജൂണ്‍ 19ന് ) സൂചനയാണ് രൂപയടക്കമുള്ള പല കറന്‍സികളുേടയും മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍ച്ചക്ക ് െപട്ടന്ന ് കാരണമായത ്. കവ്ാണ്ടിേറ്ററ്റീവ ് ഈസിങ്ങിെന്റ ഭാഗമായി െഫഡറല്‍ റിസര്‍വ്വ ് മാസംേതാറും 8500 േകാടി േഡാളറിെന്റ കടപ്പ�ങ്ങള്‍ തിരിെക വാങ്ങിയിരു�. അേമരിക്കന്‍ കടപ്പ�ത്തില്‍ നി�ള്ള ലാഭം ഒരുശതമാനേത്താളമായിരുന്നതുെകാണ്ട ് കടപ്പ� വില്‍പ്പനയിലൂെട േനടിയ േഡാളര്‍ ഭാരതമടക്കമുള്ള എമര്‍ജിങ്ങ ് ഇക്കേണാമികളുെട ഓഹരികളിലും കടപ്പ�ങ്ങളിലും നിേക്ഷപിച്്ച ലാഭം െകാ�ക യായിരു�. എന്നാല്‍ അേമരിക്കയില്‍ സാമ്പത്തിക നില െമച്ചെപ്പട്ടേതാെട പ�വര്‍ഷെത്ത അേമരിക്കന്‍ േബാണ്ടിേന്മലുള്ള ആദായം 2013 മാര്‍ച്ചില്‍ 1.62 ശതമാനമായിരുന്നത ് ആഗസ്റ്റില്‍ 2.85 ശതമാനമായി ഉയര്‍ന്നത ് െഫഡറല്‍ റിസര്‍വ്വ ് കടപ്പ�ം വാങ്ങല്‍ അവസാനിപ്പിേച്ച�െമന്ന വാര്‍ത്തയും ഭാരതമടക്കമുള്ള എമര്‍ജിങ്ങ ് സമ്പദ ് വയ്വസ്ഥകളിെല കടപ്പ� ഓഹരി വില്‍പ്പനയിലൂെട വന്‍േതാതിലുള്ള േഡാളര്‍ തിരി�െകാ�േപാകാന്‍ വിേദശധനകാരയ് സ്ഥാപനങ്ങെള േ�രിപ്പി�. ഇതായിരു� രൂപയുെട ഇേപ്പാഴെത്ത �തിസന്ധിക്ക ് തുടക്കമിട്ടത ്. 2013 ജൂണ്‍ മുതല്‍ വിേദശനിേക്ഷപക സ്ഥാപനങ്ങള്‍ കടപ്പ� വില്‍പ്പനയിലൂെട 870േകാടി േഡാളറും ഓഹരി വില്‍പ്പനയിലൂെട 300േകാടി േഡാളറുമടക്കം 1170േകാടി േഡാളര്‍ (ഏതാണ്ട ് 70000 േകാടി രൂപ) ആണ ് ഇന്തയ്യില്‍ നി�ം പിന്‍വലിച്ചത ്. ഇത ് വീ�ം

തുടര്‍�െകാണ്ടിരി�േവാളം രൂപ�േമല്‍ സമ്മര്‍ദ്ദം കൂടുകതെന്ന െച�ം. ആേഗാളീകരണത്തിെന്റ ഭാഗമായി കടപ്പ� ഓഹരി വിപണികളില്‍ വിേദശധനകാരയ്സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളുെട പങ്കാളിത്തം കുത്തെന വര്‍ദ്ധിച്ചത ് വിപണിയുേടയും രൂപയുേടയും അസ്ഥിരത�ള്ള ഒരു കാരണമാണ ്.

അവര്‍ കൂടുതല്‍ നിേക്ഷപി�േമ്പാള്‍ വിപണി െപെട്ടന്ന ് ഉയരുകയും നിേക്ഷപം പിന്‍വലി�േമ്പാള്‍ അതുേപാെല തകരുകയും െച�ന്ന �തിഭാസം കഴിഞ്ഞ നാല�വര്‍ഷമായി കാണുന്നതാണ് . ഇതിനുള്ള �ധാനകാരണം, വിേദശനിേക്ഷപസ്ഥാപനങ്ങളുെട ഓഹരി വിപണിയിെല പങ്്ക കഴിഞ്ഞ മൂ�വര്‍ഷത്തിനിടക്ക ് 14ശതമാനത്തില്‍ നി�ം 19.9ശതമാനമായി ഉയര്‍ന്നതാണ ്. 2000ത്തിന് മുമ്്പ ഇത ് നാമമാ�മായിരു�. ഇന്തയ്ന്‍ രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്േശാഷണം െസന്‍െസ�ില്‍ നി�ം െവറും അഞ്ചശ്തമാനം ഇടിവുണ്ടാക്കിയേപ്പാള്‍ സ്റ്റാേന്റര്‍ഡ ് ആന്റ ് പുവര്‍ േഡാള�് 30 എന്ന േഡാളര്‍ അടിസ്ഥാന ഇന്റ�ില്‍ 19ശതമാനം ഇടിവുണ്ടാക്കിയത് കൂടുതല്‍ വിേദശനിേക്ഷപം പിന്‍വലിക്കാനും വിേദശനിേക്ഷപകര്‍ക്ക ് ഇന്തയ്ന്‍ രൂപയില്‍ വിശവ്ാസം നഷ്ടെപ്പടാനും ഇടയാക്കി. അേമരിക്കന്‍ �തിഭാസം രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്േശാഷണത്തിന് െപെട്ടന്ന ് കാരണമാെയങ്കിലും �മുഖ കറന്‍സികെളെയ�ാം അേപക്ഷിച്ച ് രൂപക്ക ് മൂലയ്േശാഷണം സംഭവിച്ചത ് ന�െട ആഭയ്ന്തര ദൗര്‍ബലയ്ങ്ങള്‍െകാ�മാ�മാണ ്. ധനകാരയ്േമഖലയുെട സങ്കീ ര്‍ണ്ണതകളും പര�ര ബന്ധങ്ങളും പൂര്‍ണമായി ഉള്‍െക്കാളളാെത ആേവശേത്താെട നടപ്പിലാക്കിയ ആേഗാളീകരണവും ഉദാരീക രണവും വികലമായ സാമ്പത്തിക മാേനജ്െമ�ം ഭരണരംഗെത്ത െകടുകാരയ്സ്ഥതയുമാണ് രൂപെയ ദുര്‍ബലമാക്കിെക്കാണ്ടിരി�ന്നത ്. ആേഗാളീകരണത്തിെന്റ ഭാഗമായി രൂപയിലുള്ള അവധിവയ്ാപാരവും

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Sopanam - September 2013 23

കറന്‍സി െഡറിേവറ്റീവ്സിലുള്ള ഈ വിപണനവും വിേദശനിേക്ഷപകര്‍ക്ക ് രൂപയിലുള്ള ഊഹക്കച്ചവടത്തിന് അവസരം തുറ�െകാടുത്തത ് ഗുരുതരമായ സ്ഥിതിവിേശഷമാണ ് സൃഷ്ടിച്ചി�ള്ളത ്. സര്‍ക്കാരിെന്റ അംഗീകാരേത്താെടയുള്ള രൂപയുെട ഊഹക്കച്ചവടം മൂന്ന ് പര�ര ആ�ിതമായ കേമ്പാളങ്ങളിലാണ ് നട�ന്നത ്. ഒന്നാമേത്തത ് ഇന്റര്‍ ബാങ്ക ് സ്േപാര്‍ട്സാ ആന്റ ് േഫാര്‍േവഡ ് മാര്‍ക്കറ്റ ്. രണ്ടാമേത്തത ് എക്േസ്ചഞ്ച ് േ�ഡഡ ് കറന്‍സി ഫ�േച്ചഴ്സ് ആന്റ ് ഓപ്ഷന്‍സ് മാര്‍ക്കറ്റ ്. മൂന്നാമേത്തത് ഓഫ്േഷാര്‍ േനാണ്‍-െഡലിവറബിള്‍ ആന്റ ് േഫാര്‍േവഡ ് മാര്‍ക്കറ്റ ് േഫാര്‍ റുപ്പി എന്ന കേമ്പാളം ഇതില്‍ ഒന്നാമേത്തത ് ബാ�കള്‍ മാ�മായതിനാല്‍. ഏെറ�െറ റിസര്‍വ ് ബാങ്കിന് നിയ�ിക്കാവുന്നേതയു�. രണ്ടാമേത്തതിലും ഒരു പരിധിവെര നിയ�ണം െകാ�വരാം. എന്നാല്‍ മൂന്നാമെത്ത വിേദശനിേക്ഷപകര്‍ ക�ാളുന്ന വിപണിെയ നിയ�ിക്കാന്‍ ഇേപ്പാള്‍ സര്‍ക്കാരിനും വയ്വസ്ഥകളി� എന്ന അവസ്ഥയാണുള്ളത ്. ഈ കേമ്പാളത്തില്‍ രൂപെയ കരുവാക്കി ലാഭം െകാ�വാനുള്ള അവസരം വിേദശസ്ഥാപനങ്ങള്‍ ശരി�ം മുതലാ�കയാണ ്. രൂപയുെട അവധി വയ്ാപാരം അനുവദിച്ചതിനുേശഷം ഓഫ് േഷാര്‍ േനാണ്‍ – ഡവലപ ് െഡലിവറബിള്‍ കേമ്പാളത്തിെന്റ സവ്ാധീനം വളെര വര്‍ദ്ധിച്ചി�െണ്ടന്ന ് 2010ല്‍ റിസര്‍വ്വ ് ബാങ്ക ് �സിദ്ധീകരിച്ച പഠനത്തില്‍ തെന്ന വയ്�മാക്കിയി�ം േഡാളറിെന്റ അടിസ്ഥാനത്തിലുള്ള രൂപയിേന്മലുള്ള ചൂതാട്ടം നിര്‍ബാധം നട�ന്നത ് സര്‍ക്കാരിെന്റ െകടുകാരയ്സ്ഥത�ള്ള െതളിവാണ് . രൂപയിലുള്ള ഊഹക്കച്ചവടത്തിെന്റ മെറ്റാരു െതളിവ് നാഷണല്‍ േസ്റ്റാക്ക് എക്േസ്ചഞ്ചിെല വിപണന േടേണാവറില്‍ നി�ം ലഭയ്മാണ ്. 2012 ഏ�ില്‍ ജൂണ്‍ ൈ�മാസത്തില്‍ നാഷണല്‍ േസ്റ്റാക്ക് എക്േസ്ചഞ്ചിെല കറന്‍സി െഡറിേവറ്റീവ്സിെന്റ മാസാന്തയ് േടേണാവര്‍ െവറും 17,949 േകാടി രൂപയായിരുന്നത ് 2013 ഏ�ില്‍ ജൂണ്‍ ൈ�മാസത്തില്‍ 5.8ലക്ഷം രൂപയായി ഉയര്‍ന്നി�ം അത ് നിയ�ിക്കാനുള്ള നടപടികള്‍ സവ്ീകരിക്കാതിരുന്നത ് ദുരൂഹമാണ ്. ഇേതകാലത്ത ് മള്‍ട്ടി കേമ്മാ ഡിറ്റി എക്േസ്ചഞ്ചില്‍ സവ്ര്‍ണ്ണ അവധിവയ്ാപാരം 3.5ലക്ഷം േകാടിരൂപയായി ഉയര്‍ന്നതും ഊഹക്കച്ചവടം ശ�മാകുന്നതിെന്റ സൂചനയാണ് .

ഏെതാരു കറന്‍സിയുേടയും വിേദശവിനിമയമൂലയ്ം ആതയ്ന്തികമായി നിര്‍ണയിക്കെപ്പടുന്നത ് സമ്പദ് വയ്വസ്ഥയുെട ശ�ിയുേടയും സുസ്ഥിരതയുേടയും അടിസ്ഥാനത്തിലാണ ്. സാമ്പത്തിക വളര്‍ച്ചേയക്കാള്‍ നിര്‍ണായകമായത് കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് ബാലന്‍സ് , വിേദശകടത്തിെന്റ േതാത ് (ജിഡിപി യുെട ശതമാനത്തില്‍), പണെപ്പരുപ്പത്തിെന്റ ശതമാനം, ബജറ്റ ് കമ്മി എന്നിവയാണ ്. ഇവെയ�ാം ഇേപ്പാള്‍ തീെര തൃപ്തികരമ�ാത്ത അവസ്ഥയിലാണ ്. ഇവയില്‍ ഏറ്റവും അപകടകരമായ ഘടകം കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മിയാണ ്. ഇേപ്പാള്‍ വിവിധ കറന്‍സികളുെട മൂലയ്േശാഷണത്തിെന്റ േതാത ് �ദ്ധിച്ചാല്‍ ഒരു കാരയ്ം വയ്�മാകും. കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ടില്‍ മിച്ചമുള്ള ൈചനയുെട കറന്‍സിക്ക ് മൂലയ്േശാഷണം സംഭവിച്ചിട്ടി�. കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മി

കുറവായ സൗത്ത ് െകാറിയ േപാലുള്ള രാജയ്ങ്ങളില്‍ മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍ച്ചയുെട ഒരു ശതമാനത്തില്‍താെഴ മാ�മാണ ്. അേതസമയം കമ്മി കൂടുതലായുള്ള ഭാരതം, �സീല്‍, ഇേന്താേനഷയ്, മേലഷയ് തുടങ്ങിയ രാജയ്ങ്ങളില്‍ കറന്‍സി മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍ച്ച കൂടുതലായിരു�. അേപ്പാള്‍ യാഥാര്‍ത്ഥ�ശ്നം കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മിതെന്നയാണ ്. 2012-13 വര്‍ഷങ്ങളില്‍ ഇത ് 8800 േകാടി േഡാളറായി (ഏതാണ്ട ് അഞ്ച ് ലക്ഷം േകാടിരൂപ) ഉയര്‍ന്നിരു�. ഇത ് ജിഡിപിയുെട 4.8ശതമാനമായിരു�. 1991ല്‍ വലിയ സാമ്പത്തിക �തിസന്ധിയുണ്ടായേപ്പാള്‍ േപാലും കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മി സുരക്ഷിതേരഖയായ 2.5ശതമാനത്തില്‍ നിലനിര്‍ത്താനായിരു�. നട�വര്‍ഷം 7500േകാടി േഡാളറിെന്റ കമ്മിയാണ ് സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ �തീക്ഷി�ന്നത ്. കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മിയുെട �ധാനകാരണം ഭാരിച്ച വയ്ാപാര കമ്മിയാണ ്. കഴിഞ്ഞ വര്‍ഷം ഏകേദശം 50,000 േകാടി േഡാളറിെന്റ ഇറ�മതിയും 30,400 േകാടിയുെട കയ�മതിയും േചര്‍ത്ത ് 19,600 േകാടി രൂപേയാളം വയ്ാപാരക്കമ്മിയുണ്ടായിരു�. പുറെമ ഏഴായിരം േകാടി േഡാളറിെന്റ എന്‍ആര്‍ഐ നിേക്ഷപവും മ� വിേദശനിേക്ഷപങ്ങളും േചര്‍ത്ത ് കമ്മി 8,800ആയി ചുരു�കയായിരു�. മുകളില്‍ സൂചിപ്പിച്ചതുേപാെല കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മിയുെട �ധാനകാരണം വര്‍ദ്ധി�വരുന്ന ഇറ�മതിയാണ ്. െപേ�ാളിയം ഉപേഭാഗത്തിെന്റ എണ്‍പത ് ശതമാനവും ഇറ�മതി െച�ന്നതിന് വര്‍ഷത്തില്‍ 17,00േകാടി േഡാളര്‍ െചലവാകു�. ഇത ് െമാത്തം ഇറ�മതി െചലവിെന്റ 34 ശതമാനത്തില്‍ അധികമാണ ്. �തദിനം 46േകാടി േഡാളര്‍ (ഏതാണ്ട ് 28,00േകാടി രൂപ) എണ്ണ ഇറ�മതിക്ക ് െചലവഴി�േമ്പാള്‍ സര്‍ക്കാരിെന്റ ഭരണത്തിെല െകടുകാരയ്സ്ഥത നിമിത്തം ദിവസവും േകാടിക്കണക്കിന് േഡാളര്‍ നഷ്ടെപ്പടുന്ന ദുരവസ്ഥയാണിന്ന ്. 113 എക്േസ്�ാേറഷന്‍ േ�ാ�കളില്‍ െപേ�ാളിയേമാ ഗയ്ാേസാ കെണ്ടത്തിയി�ം 2013 ജനുവരി വെര ആെറണ്ണത്തില്‍ മാ�മാണ ് ഉത്പാദനം തുടങ്ങാനായത് . മ�ള്ളവ േക�സര്‍ക്കാരിെന്റ പരിസ്ഥിതി സമു�വിഭവം തീരേദശസംരക്ഷണം ബഹിരാകാശ വകുപ്പ് തുടങ്ങി ബന്ധെപ്പട്ട വകു�കളുെട അനുമതിക്കായി ദീര്‍ഘകാലമായി കാത്തിരിപ്പാണ് . നമ്മള്‍ കെണ്ടത്തിയ െപേ�ാളിയം വിഭവങ്ങളുെട പകുതിെയങ്കിലും ഉത്പാദനക്ഷമമാക്കിയാല്‍ കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മി ഒരു ശതമാനെമങ്കിലും കുറക്കാന്‍ കഴിേഞ്ഞെന. ഇതുേപാെല കല്‍ക്കരിപ്പാടങ്ങള്‍ അനുവദിച്ചതിെല അഴിമതികള്‍ പുറ�വന്നേതാെട ആ േമഖലയും സ്തംഭനാവസ്ഥയിലാണ ്. ഏ�ില്‍ ജൂണ്‍ ൈ�മാസിക സാമ്പത്തിക വളര്‍ച്ച 2008 ന് േശഷം ഏറ്റവും കുറഞ്ഞ നിരക്കായ 4.4 ശതമാനത്തിേലക്ക ് താഴ് ന്നതില്‍ ഖാനനേമഖലയുെട വളര്‍ച്ച 2.8 ഇടിഞ്ഞത ് ഒരു �ധാനകാരണമായി എടു�കാണി��ണ്ട് . ഇതില്‍ കല്‍ക്കരി േമഖലയുെട പ�ം വലുതാണ് . 2013 ജൂണില്‍ മാ�ം കല്‍ക്കരി ഇറ�മതി അമ്പത്തിരണ്ട ് ശതമാനം വര്‍ദ്ധി�കയുണ്ടായി. അേതസമയം േകാള്‍ ഇന്തയ്യുെട നൂറിലധികം കല്‍ക്കരിപ്പാടങ്ങള്‍ ദീര്‍ഘകാലമായി പരിസ്ഥിതി മ�ാലയത്തിെന്റ അനുമതി കാ�കിട�കയാണ് . കല്‍ക്കരിപ്പാടങ്ങളുണ്ടായി�ം ഊര്‍ജ്ജാവശയ്ത്തിന് വര്‍ദ്ധിച്ചേതാതില്‍ കല്‍ക്കരി ഇറ�മതി െച� ് വിലെപ്പട്ട വിേദശ വിനിമയം നഷ്ടെപ്പടു�ന്നത ്

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Sopanam - September 201324

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ആകര്‍ഷമക�ാതാവുകയും െച� സാഹചരയ്ത്തില്‍ നിേക്ഷപകര്‍ സവ്ര്‍ണ്ണെത്ത സുരക്ഷിതമായ നിേക്ഷപമായി കണ്ടതില്‍ അതിശയമി�. വിലനിലവാരം പിടി�നിര്‍ത്താന്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞിരു�െവങ്കില്‍ സവ്ര്‍ണ ഇറ�മതി പകുതിയാെയങ്കിലും കുറക്കാന്‍ കഴിേഞ്ഞെന. 2008-09ല്‍ 18,829 േകാടി രൂപ�ള്ള സവ്ര്‍ണ്ണ ഇറ�മതി 2009-10ല്‍ 1,35,878േകാടിയും 2011-12ല്‍ 2,69,563 േകാടിയായും 2012-13ല്‍ 3.5ലക്ഷം േകാടി രൂപയിലധികമായും വര്‍ദ്ധിച്ചത ് നിേക്ഷപാവശയ്ത്തിനുള്ള ഡിമാന്റ ് കൂടിയതിനാലാണ് . നട�വര്‍ഷം ഏ�ിലില്‍ മാ�ം 750 േകാടി േഡാളറിെന്റ ഏകേദശം 42,000 േകാടി രൂപ സവ്ര്‍ണ്ണമാണ ് ഇറ�മതി െച�ത് .

േവള്‍ഡ ് േഗാള്‍ഡ ് കൗണ്‍സിലിെന്റ കണക്കനുസരിച്ച ് നിേക്ഷപാവശയ്ത്തിനുള്ള സവ്ര്‍ണ്ണ ഇറ�മതിയുെട പങ്ക ് 2008 ല്‍ 28 ശതമാനമായിരുന്നത ് 2009 ല്‍ 34 ശതമാനമായും 2010ല്‍ 38 ശതമാനമായിരുന്നത ് ഏറ്റവുെമാടുവില്‍ അറുപത ് ശതമാനത്തിലധികമായി ഉയര്‍ന്നിരി�കയാണ് . അടുത്തകാലത്ത ് റിസര്‍വ്വബാ്�ം സര്‍ക്കാരും സവ്ീകരിച്ച നടപടികെള�ടര്‍ന്ന ് ഇറ�മതി 30ശതമാനേത്താളം കുറയുെമന്ന �തീക്ഷയുണ്ട് .

ഭക്ഷയ്എണ്ണ ഇറ�മതിക്കായി 1500േകാടി േഡാളര്‍ െചലവഴിച്ച ് ഏകേദശം 80ലക്ഷം ടണ്‍ പാേമായിലും േസായാബിന്‍ ഓയിലും ഇറ�മതി െച��ണ്ട് . ഭക്ഷയ് എണ്ണക്ക് േലാകവയ്ാപാര ഉടമ്പടിയില്‍ 300ശതമാനം വെര ഇറ�മതി തീരുവ ചുമത്താനുള്ള അവകാശം േനടിെയടുത്തി�ം സംസ്കരിക്കാത്ത പാേമായിലിന് 2.5ശതമാനവും സംസ്കരിച്ചതിന് 7.5ശതമാനവും ഇറ�മതി തീരുവയാണ് കഴിഞ്ഞ മൂ�വര്‍ഷത്തിലധികമായി ചുമ�ന്നത ്. മാ�വുമ� ഇറ�മതി െച� പാേമായില്‍ കിേലാക്ക ് പതിനഞ്ച ് രൂപ സബ്സിഡി അനുവദിച്ചാണ ് വില്‍�ന്നത ്. േതങ്ങയടക്കമുള്ള എണ്ണ�രുക്കളുെട വികസനത്തിന് ഈ സബ്സിഡിയുെട പകുതിെയങ്കിലും ഉപേയാഗിച്ചിരു�െവങ്കില്‍ ഭക്ഷയ്എണ്ണ ഇറ�മതി മൂ�വര്‍ഷംെകാണ്ട ് പകുതിയായി കുറക്കാന്‍ കഴിേഞ്ഞെന. രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്േശാഷണം ഏറ്റവും വലിയ �തിസന്ധിയുണ്ടാ �ന്നത ് വിേദശകടത്തിെന്റ തിരിച്ചടവിലാണ ്. രണ്ടാം യൂപിഎ ഗവണ്‍െമന്റ ് അധികാരത്തില്‍ വന്നേശഷം ഒമ്പത് വര്‍ഷംെകാണ്ട് 27,740 േകാടി േഡാളറിെന്റ അധിക കടബാധയ്തയാണ ് ഉണ്ടാക്കിയത് . അതായത് , ഒമ്പത് വര്‍ഷംെകാണ്ട ് വിേദശകടം 3.4മടങ്ങ ് വര്‍ദ്ധി�. ഏെറ െകാട്ടിേഘാഷിക്കെപ്പട്ട എട്ടശ്തമാനം വളര്‍ച്ചാനിരക്ക ് ൈകവരിക്കാന്‍ രാ�െത്ത കടെക്കണിയിേലക്ക് നയി�കയായിരു�. 2013 മാര്‍ച്ച ് അവസാനം ഭാരതത്തിെന്റ െമാത്തം വിേദശകടം 39,000 േകാടി േഡാളര്‍ (ഏകേദശം 22ലക്ഷം േകാടി രൂപ) ആയിരുന്നത ് രൂപയുെട ഇരുപത ് ശതമാനം മൂലയ്േശാഷണേത്താെട ഫലത്തില്‍ ഇരുപത ് ശതമാനം വര്‍ദ്ധി�. അേതസമയം സവ്ര്‍ണ്ണവും എസ്ഡിആറും അടക്കമുള്ള െമാത്തം വിേദശവിനിമയ വിഭവങ്ങള്‍ 2013 ആഗസ്റ്റ ് 16ന് 27880 േകാടി േഡാളര്‍ മാ�മായിരു�. ഇതില്‍ തെന്ന വിേദശകറന്‍സി േശഖരം 25,156 േകാടിമാ�മാണ ് (വിേദശകടത്തിെന്റ 65ശതമാനം). ഇത ് അപായസൂചനയാണ് നല്‍കുന്നത ്. രണ്ടാം യുപിഎ സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ അധികാരത്തിേലറുേമ്പാള്‍ െമാത്തം വിേദശവിനിമയ വിഭവങ്ങള്‍ വിേദശകടത്തിെന്റ 150 ശതമാനത്തിലധികമായിരുന്നത ് 2008ല്‍

138ശതമാനവും 2011ല്‍ നൂറുശതമാനമായും 2013ല്‍ 74ശതമാനമായും കുറഞ്ഞത ് കടെക്കണിയില്‍ അകെപ്പടാനുള്ള സാധയ്ത വര്‍ദ്ധിപ്പി�യാണ ്.

രൂപയുെട വിനിമയമൂലയ്ത്തില്‍ സമ്മര്‍ദ്ദം െചലു�ന്ന ഘടകം 43ശതമാനം കടവും ഒരു വര്‍ഷത്തിനുള്ളില്‍ തിരിച്ചടേക്കണ്ട വയാണ ് എന്നതാണ് . മൂ�വര്‍ഷത്തിലധികം കാലേത്ത�ള്ള കടം നാല്‍പത ് ശതമാനേത്താളമാണ ്. രൂപക്ക ് േമല്‍സമ്മര്‍ദ്ദമുയര്‍�ന്ന മെറ്റാരുഘടകം 57.2 ശതമാനം വിേദശകടവും േഡാളറില്‍ തിരിച്ചടേക്കണ്ടതാണ് എന്നാണ ്. മാ�വുമ� െമാത്തം വിേദശകടത്തില്‍ 40ശതമാനേത്താളം സവ്കാരയ് േകാര്‍പ്പേറ�കള്‍ എടുത്ത െകാേമഴ്സയ്ല്‍ വാ�കളാണ ്. പാശ്ചാതയ്േലാകെത്ത സാമ്പത്തിക മാന്ദയ്ം അവയുെട കയ�മതിെയ ബാധി�കയും തിരിച്ചടവിന് �യാസമുണ്ടാവുകയും െച�ാല്‍ അത ് വലിയ �തിസന്ധിയുണ്ടാ�ം.

ഇന്തയ്ന്‍ സമ്പദ് വയ്വസ്ഥയില്‍ േലാകത്തിന് വിശവ്ാസം നഷ്ടെപ്പ�െവ�ം എന്നാല്‍ ഇത ് തിരിച്ചറിയാന്‍ സര്‍ക്കാരിന് ആവുന്നിെ��ം രത്തന്‍ടാറ്റ ആഗസ്റ്റ ് 28ന് പറഞ്ഞത ് ഏെറ�െറ യാഥാര്‍ത്ഥയ്മാണ ്. സവ്കാരയ്േമഖലയിെല ചിലനിക്ഷിപ്ത താല്‍പരയ്ങ്ങളുെട പിടിയിലാണ ് സര്‍ക്കാെര�ം ഇതുമൂലം നിര്‍ണായക നയങ്ങള്‍ പലതും തിരു�കേയാ താമസിപ്പി�കേയാ െചേ�ണ്ടിവരികയാെണ�ം, രാജയ്ം േനതൃതവ് ദാരി�യ്ത്തിലാ െണ�മുള്ള ടാറ്റയുെട അഭി�ായം ശരിയാെണന്നത ് േനരെത്ത പറഞ്ഞ വ�തകളില്‍ നി�ം വയ്�മാണ് . അേതാെടാപ്പം അധികാരെമാഴിഞ്ഞ റിസര്‍വ്വ ് ബാങ്ക ് ഗവര്‍ണര്‍ സുബ്ബറാവുവും ആഗസ്റ്റ ് 29ന് തെന്റ വിടവാങ്ങല്‍ �സംഗത്തില്‍ രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍�ള്ള അടിസ്ഥാനം ആഭയ്ന്തര കാരണങ്ങളാെണ�ം �തിസന്ധിക്ക ് കാരണം േക� സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ തെന്നയാെണ�ം കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മിക്ക ് ഘടനാപരമായ പരിഹാരങ്ങള്‍ തെന്ന േവണെമ�ം സൂചിപ്പിച്ചത ് സര്‍ക്കാരിന് തിരിച്ചടിയായി. അേമരിക്കന്‍ സമ്പദ് വയ്വസ്ഥയുെട വളര്‍ച്ചയാണ ് രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍ച്ചക്ക ് കാരണെമന്ന സര്‍ക്കാരിെന്റ വാദവും അേദ്ദഹം നിരാകരി�.

ചുരുക്കത്തില്‍ രൂപയുെട മൂലയ്ത്തകര്‍ച്ചയുെട കാരയ്ത്തില്‍ സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ ഇരുട്ടില്‍ ത�കയാണ് . േരാഗത്തിന് ചികിത്സി�ന്നതിന് പകരം േരാഗലക്ഷണത്തിനാണ ് ചികിത്സി�ന്നത ്. യഥാര്‍ത്ഥ�ശ്നം െപരുകുന്ന കറന്റ ് അക്കൗണ്ട് കമ്മിയും വിലക്കയറ്റവുമാണ ്. േമറ്റല്ല്ാ�ശ്നങ്ങളും ഇവയുെട അനന്തരഫലങ്ങളാണ് . റിസര്‍വ്വ ് ബാങ്കിെന്റ പണം നയവും സര്‍ക്കാരിെന്റ ബജറ്റ ് നയവും വയ്ാപാര നയവും പര�രാ�ിതതവ്ത്തില്‍ �വര്‍ത്തിേക്കണ്ടവയാണ് . റിസര്‍വ്വ ് ബാങ്ക ് വിലനിലവാരം പിടി�നിര്‍ത്താന്‍ ൈകെക്കാണ്ട നിലപാടുകള്‍ക്ക ് കടകവിരുദ്ധമായാണ് സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ പലേപ്പാഴും നയരൂപീകരണം നട�ന്നതും നടപ്പാ�ന്നതും. എന്നിട്്ട പര�രം പഴിചാരി രക്ഷെപ്പടാനുള്ള വയ്�തയാണ ്. ഇനിെയങ്കിലും യാഥാര്‍ത്ഥയ്േബാധേത്താെട കൂട്ടായ തീരുമാനങ്ങെളടുക്കാന്‍ റിസര്‍വ്വ ് ബാങ്ക ്, െസബി, േഫാര്‍േവഡ ് മാര്‍ക്കറ്റ ് കമ്മീഷന്‍, ധനകാരയ്-വയ്ാപാര മ�ാലയങ്ങള്‍ എന്നിവ ത�ാറായിെ�ങ്കില്‍ രൂപയുെട ഭാവി അനിശ്ചിതതവ്ത്തില്‍ തുടരുകയും ഊഹക്കച്ചവടക്കാര്‍ലാഭമുണ്ടാ�കയും െച�ം.

Sopanam - September 2013 25

Learn with Quiz Masterreshmy Krishnakumar

1. Who gave birth to Lord Vamana?

2. What is Cartography?

3. Which sea separates Australia and New Zealand?

4. Whichfilmwasbannedin1921becausetheactorresembledGandhi?

5. Name the only sister of Kauravas?

6. Which chemical is used as rat poison ?

7. Who acknowledged the principle of giving free primary education in Travancore?

8. OldestNationalFlagintheworldisthenationalflagofwhichcountry?

9. Who wrote the famous astronomical book “Almagest”?

10. Bhishma brought three brides Amba, Ambika, Ambaliks for his brother Vichitravirya to marry. Among them one bride was not married to Vichitravirya. Who was she?

We are what our thoughts have made us, so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts Live; They travel far.

Meditation means the mind is turned back upon itself. The mind stops all the thought-waves and the world stops.

Your Consciousness expands

Take risk in your Life.

If you win, you can Lead!

IfyouLoose,YoucanGuide!

Swami vivekananda

EducationhnZr`rmkw

Answers page - 27

Sopanam - September 201326

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Sopanam - September 2013 27

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Sopanam - September 201328

SpiritualismA²rmßnId

I was quite a bit surprised when I received Onam wishes from a Kuwaiti Colleague; with my eyes wide opened, I asked him how does he know about our festival Onam and not contrary to my expectation, all that he knew about Onam was yet another festival for “In-dians”. The keralite inside me could not re-sist enlightening my dear colleague with the exuberant Onam Celebrations that ultimately made me to end up in the swirl of nostalgia.

During school days, the stumbling block before getting in to the festivity of Onam were the exams that accompanied the first few days of Onam which often reminded us to be re-sponsible students and the nightmare of back-to-school days after the holidays. However, nothing could stop the early morning gallops to collect flowers for the Pookalams and to be the first one to take the possession of the Swing.

To the core of my heart, I still cherish the reminiscences of the sumptuous Onasadya (Onam feast), the long-waited Onakodi (new dress), the tempos of vallapattu, the spirit of Vallam Kali (snake boat race), Puli Kali (tiger dance).

What we see around nowadays is the eth-nicities of Onam been converted in to com-

Onam... Swirl of Nostalgia

Prakash nair

Art & Litrature

IeþkmlnXrw

petitions and sold in packets. Middle East turned out to be a podium for Onam Celebra-tions that lasts till the end of the year by vari-ous associations.

Being embedded in the purity and bliss of my childhood Onam memories and the con-cept that was conveyed to me over years, I restricted myself to be a spectator in any of these Onam Celebrations.

I resolved myself; I have to overcome these wistful thoughts of Onam. I am not going to adopt the feeling “gone are those days’ and I cannot spend these days in front of TV watch-ing some ‘blockbusters’.

Getting in to the wings of the aircraft, I said, benevolent Mahabali Thampuran, am coming to “your owned Kerala” to pay a glo-rious tribute to your memory and to celebrate Onam with my much-loved people.

It was a heavenly bliss when I felt the first rain drop on my forehead, but wished the has-sles of rain out of the thiruvonam day. The spontaneous holiday spirit got a refreshing mind set. There was much more than shop-ping and celebrating, but to bring back the childhood friends from the vicinity as well.

Sopanam - September 2013 29

Being the native of the land of Thiruvaran-mula Krishnan, I witnessed the marvelous sailing of Garuda faced thiruvonathoni carry-ing the provisions for Onasadya for the deity and the nights were filled with Vallapattukal from the banks of Pampa River.

However, the places and people have changed a lot now. It took a while for me to re-alize the prosperity and divinity of Onam has vanished from Kerala, the streets are tightly packed with people everywhere, the roads in pathetic conditions, the visible discrimina-tions between the affluent to unfortunate in errands and celebrations.

The most awaited Pookalam was made of Marigold and other flowers brought from the flower market. Where are our Thumba, Mook-ootti, Chethi Poovukal gone! Why nobody in-cluding me tried to preserve them?

Onam Swing was tied in the branches of a mango tree in our backyard, but children were busy with PlayStations and movies. People should be extra cautious to walk through the roadsides for the vehicles not to splash mud over the Onakodis.

Had a delicious Onasadya, participated in the Snake Boat race and spent the whole af-ternoon socializing with friends and relatives. But a thought of unsettling restlessness and sadness came over me. I am missing some-thing some where! It is thirteen years since amma left us, I know I cannot wish for more bliss than lying down in Amma’s lap after the Onam feast listening her incessant chats. The constant ringing of telephone awakened me from the thoughts. Yes, the flight is on time, I have to leave back to my temporary abode for the rollercoaster ride for survival.

Above all celebrations, we should under-stand the message that Onam conveys “‘Nara’ rising to become ‘Narayana’—of human be-ings rising up to become one with God”, the message of selflessness, sacrifice, truth, equal-ity and compassion. Or, with every Onam, are we drifting away from our values? With all the limitations and the boundaries as expatriates, we should try our best to spread the message of Onam to our next generation for a harmoni-ous and happiness world around us.

Quiz Answers

Art & Litrature

IeþkmlnXrw

1. Aditi2. The science of making Maps3. Tasman Sea4. Bhakthavidura5. Dushala6. Zinc Phosphide7. Sreemoolam Thirunal8. Denmark9. Ptolemy10. Amba

Sopanam - September 201330

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Sopanam - September 2013 31

Teej Recipes

Teej or Teejri is the special festival for Indian wom-en. It most often, falls in the month of Sharavan in Iuly or in August. On this day, married women fasts for their husbands and they pray for a happy and long married life. This festival is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Parvati.

The Teej festival is an important festival for mar-ried Indian women, and much anticipated monsoon festival. It commemorates the reunion of Lord Shi-va and Goddess Parvati, after she paid a penance (Tapasya) of 100 years separation. The invocation of Parvati’s blessing during the festival is believed to bring about continued marital bliss. Teejri is celebrated in North India Particularly in Jaipur, where a procession is taken for two days

throughout the old city. Women observe fast on this day for the well being of their husband and their schedule is some about like this, as they wake up early in morning, eat something good, so that they should be able to keep fast for the whole day, till the moon comes out. Some women start their Pooja / Archana by 12 p.m. and some starts at 7.p.m. This Indian Teej Pooja is really having a lot of belief and devote. Indian Women does this pooja with Thali by lighting agar-bathis, kum-kum, flowers and some sweets. After the pooja is done, some women eat fruits and sweets and others remain very strict in their fasting. Teej celebrates the onset of bounteous monsoons. It is considered as a festival of indulgence, clothes, or-naments and delectable food. Married women does pooja for their husband, where as young girls keep

this fast for their would be husband. Though a fast is observed by the women on the day of the festival, a sumptuous feast precedes and fol-lows the festival. Delightful goodies are prepared in which the whole household is involved. Now a days, married wom-en and even young girls also dress up and decorate their palms with mehndi (henna). Here are some mouth watering recipes, specially prepared during Teej festival by Indian Women across the country.

MathruDharshan

amXr ZÀi\wSaltPepper

Sopanam - September 201332

SpiritualismA²rmßnId

Speech of Swami Vivekananda

''Sisters and Brothers of America''

{At this moment came the three minute standing ovation from the audience of around 7,000}

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in re-sponse to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. l thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects. My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, refer-ring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration.I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal tolera-tion, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the per-secuted and the refugees of all religions and all na-tions of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Is-raelites, who came to the southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has shel-tered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: As the different streams having there sources in dif-ferent places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear,

crooked or straight, all lead to thee.

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindica-tion, a declaration to the world, of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.

Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civi-lization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecu-tions with the sword or with the pen, and of all un-charitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.I will tell you a little story. You have heard the eloquent speaker who has just finished say,

11th September, 1893

Composed by Karthik MotwaniWorld Parliament Of Religion,

ChicagoResponse To Welcome

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Sopanam - September 2013 33

"Let us cease from abusing each other," and he was very sorry that there should be always so much variance. But I think I should tell you a story which would illustrate the cause of this variance. A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born there and brought up there, and yet was a little, small frog. Of course the evolutionists were not there then to tell uswhether the frog lost its eyes or not, but, for our story's sake, we must take it for granted that it had its eyes, and that it every day cleansed the water of all the worms and bacilli that lived in it with an energy that would do credit to our mod-ern bacteriologists. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well, one day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well.

"Where are you from?""I am from the sea.""The sea! How big is that? Is it as big as my well?" and he took a leap from one side of the well to the other."My friend," said the frog of the sea, "how do

you compare the sea with your little well?" Then the frog took another leap and asked, "Is your sea so big?""What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!" "Well, then," said the frog of the well, "noth-ing can be bigger than my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; this fellow is a liar, so turn him out."

That has been the difficulty all the while.I am a Hindu. I am sitting in my own little well and thinking that the whole world is my little well.

I have to thank you of America for the great attempt you are making to break down the barriers of this little world of ours, and hope that, in the future, the Lord will help you to accomplish your purpose.

15 September 1893

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Sopanam - September 201334

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A long long time ago, an Asura (demon) king called Mahabali ruled Kerala. He was a wise, be-nevolent and judicious ruler and beloved of his sub-jects. Soon his fame as an able king began to spread far and wide, but when he extended his rule to the heavens and the netherworld, the gods felt chal-lenged and began to fear his growing powers. Pre-suming that he might become over-powerful, Aditi, the mother of Devas pleaded with Lord Vishnu to curtail Mahabali's powers. Vishnu transformed him-self into a dwarf called Vamana and approached Ma-habali while he was performing a yajna and asked for alms. Pleased with the dwarf brahmin's wisdom, Mahabali granted him a wish. The Emperor's pre-ceptor, Sukracharya warned him against making the gift, for he realized that the seeker was no ordinary person. But the Emperor's kingly ego was boosted to think that God had asked him for a favor. So he firmly declared that there is no greater sin than go-ing back on one's promise. He kept his word.

The Vamana asked for a simple gift — three pac-es of land — and the king agreed to it. Vishnu in the guise of Vamana then increased his stature and with the first step covered the sky, blotting out the stars, and with the second, straddled the netherworld. Realising that Vamana's third step will destroy the earth, Mahabali offered his head as the last step.

Vishnu's fatal third step pushed him to the neth-erworld, but before banishing him to the underworld Vishnu granted him a boon. Since he was attached to his kingdom and his people, he was allowed to return once a year from exile. Onam is the celebra-tion that marks the homecoming of King Mahabali. It is the day when a grateful Kerala pays a glorious tribute to the memory of this benign king who gave his all for his subjects.

Another Story of King Mahabali & Vamana

Another legend has it that King Mahabali was

a devout worshipper of Lord Vishnu. He was sin-cere, honest, just and a good ruler. But he had one weakness — ego. And to eradicate his pride and redeem his beloved devotee of this one sin, Vish-nu came to earth in the form of a dwarf Brahmin named Vamana.

The king in his pride asked the Brahmin what he wanted for he could give anything. Vamana asked for three paces of land and the king agreed. To humble him Vishnu, as Vamana showed Mahabali that he is just a puny creature in front of God's uni-versal stature.

Mahabali, who was a man of principles, real-ized God's purpose and offered his head for Vama-na's footstep, as he was sent to another world. This fatal step proved a blessing in disguise for the good king — the foot salvaged and released him from the recurrent cycle of birth and death. That is why Onam is celebrated by wearing new clothes and re-solving to lead a new life of truth, piety, love, and humility.

The Stories Behind the Onam Festival