INSPIRATIONAL STORY

A Humble Act

The King of Mysore and Sir MV

The King of Mysore, Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV and Sir MV were in a pensive mood. They had reached a dead-end. The proposed KRS dam was 6 months away from completion and they had run out of money. Just 8 months ago, the king had mortgaged his family jewels to King of Benaras (now called Varanasi — the oldest inhabited city in the world). The queen had given her favourite necklaces and family heirlooms for the project. But eventually, that too ran out in mounting labour and construction costs. According to human psyche, they say, when we are cornered and have nowhere to go, a sudden and un-expected courage takes over our very being. A man thus subjected will pull off all odds in a sortie mainly because he has nothing to lose. Sir MV had an impractical idea, but wanted to attempt. That morning, he sent out messages to all village headmen that he wanted to meet them in a village near Mandya the next day at 4 p.m. The royal messengers rushed out to village after village delivering the important missive. The agenda was not mentioned. Sir MV expected at the most 5 to 10 village headmen would come to the meeting due to short notice.

Next day, they reached the meeting at 3:50 p.m. There were more than 500 people, village elders and younger, crowd included. All wanted to hear the great engineer who was building this huge lifeline. There was another man walking with Sir MV. The crowd gasped. For most of them had never seen the king up so close. The king was a genteel, but education had taught him humility. He walked amongst the crowd, spoke to them as a commoner, mingled and finally took up the stage. He spoke from the heart, in their language. He did not hide anything. He said that he needed help and asked the villagers if they would work for free for 4 weeks until he found out a solution. He told them that he was thinking of mortgaging one of his palaces. Here was a king who was like them, without money and was about to mortgage his house. “Just like us” they thought. But what touched them most were his vulnerability and simplicity. The king had connected. The effect was electrifying. However, no one responded. A month of free work meant depleted savings for some, and for others, starvation.

Next morning at 6:30 a.m., Sir MV met the king and they commenced discussing mortgaging the palace when the king’s secretary suddenly rushed inside. He exclaimed, “You got to see this.” Everyone hurriedly went to the palace balcony. The sight was one to behold. First they saw a few, then hundreds and then thousands. Wave after wave of people were streaming into the palace court­yard. Farmers, teachers, cart-drivers, old men, women- many with toddlers — people of all sorts and sizes came to do their tiny bit to complete the dream that was KRS. The king, queen, courtiers and Sir MV watched the spec­tacle with unbelievable eyes. With moistened eyes, the king held out his hand and placed it on his heart — a gesture of deepest gratitude. Even the non-emotional Sir MV was moved. The people of Mysore would not care if they were not paid, but they would complete the dam braving whatever odds that came their way. KRS stands proudly as a testament to a humble king, brilliant engineer and the toil of thousands of men and women who made it an architectural wonder that it is. But above all, it is a symbolic representation of a miracle that can be achieved if your heart is pure and intentions are well. The sophisticated canal system from KRS to Shivana Samudra has enabled mother earth to deck herself in lushest of green. This area is called the green gold of Karnataka.

Author Unknown

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TRUE SUSTAINABILITY

Holistic Approach in Understanding 

TRUE SUSTAINABILITY

-Dr. Ajit Sabnis

Preamble:

Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Society, Eco-friendly communities, Global warming, Climate change etc. are the modern day buzz words and are being very commonly used by one and all. Professionals also coin new and attractive phrases like: Smart and Sustainable Societies, High performing Societies, Eco-spirituality and so on. In most cases, the understanding of true sustainability has a very limited bandwidth.

Till the beginning of 18^th century all looked OK. Sustainability aspect never bothered us. Most of the natural resources, most of the environment had remained un-altered. It is then the period of Industrial revolution emerged on the global scenario and western countries started to establish their supremacy in terms of infrastructure development, better life style their citizens, more and more comforts to their citizens etc. And in the bargain, they started using the natural resources provided to them by the nature. This suit followed by other countries by the time we reached mid nineteenth century. Present developed countries were then the Developing countries. They were probably smart and cautious  enough to reserve most of their natural resources and started importing these resources from third world countries. Third world countries accepted this change whole heartedly as they also aspired for infrastructure development in their economies in proportion to their population. It has continued even today and those developing nations have now attained status of Developed Nations.

The Complexity:

Sustainability as a phenomenon is very complex and no one can actually claim to have understood it in its entirety. It is considered as one of the Big Questions by the scientific community.

The Definition:

Sustainability in general is as an ability to sustain as per most dictionaries. This aspect of sustainability has different definitions in different contexts. For example, in the context of forestry, sustainable development can mean the harvesting of trees and other forest products at a rate that does not exceed the capacity of the forest to regenerate itself. In the context of urban planning, sustainable development can mean managing growth within the capacity of infrastructure to service the population and so on. As per Dr. Abdul Kalam, Sustainability is the line between Need and Greed. As per United Nations, Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of our generation without compromising the needs of future generations. As per one of the recent studies, True Sustainability is establishing harmony with the Nature and the Environment it provides.

India’s Position:

After agriculture and industrial revolutions, India focused on its infrastructure development and still we are a developing economy in the world and this is mainly due to uncontrolled population growth. On one hand, we have always struggled to reconcile with the Demand and Supply chain and on the other, global geographical boundaries are shrinking and the global community is becoming one in experiencing various impacts of human greed. This phenomenon is referred as ‘Anthropogenic’. Developed nations, which are actually responsible for all the environmental chaos hitherto, are putting pressure on developing nations to exercise control on their growth patterns. In the process of aping the West, we have forgotten our ancient wisdom, sustainable practices and now looking for Sustainable Solutions from them and that is the irony.

Info Box: As of today, global greenhouse gasses emitted together by USA, China and European countries put together amounts to whopping 56 % and that by India alone is only 6.5 %. However, we are fourth in the list. Average per capita power consumption is highest in the US while India it is the least. All said and done, today, the detrimental impact due to human greed is affecting our Planet.

Why the Big Concern!

In the name of materialistic development, especially since the beginning of 19^th century, we have brought the Planet Earth to the brink of disaster. It is an established fact that whenever a new and better species have appeared on earth, there has been a major disaster or chaos. What exactly is the IMPACT we are all talking about! Why the whole world is now so concerned about it!

The Impact:

The impact phenomenon that we are talking about is the detrimental impact human beings are casting on the Natural Environment. This can be understood by looking at the three important challenges we are head-on with;

1] Global warming- Where the average global temperature is increasing very rapidly due to human activities. This is due to emission and accumulation of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This has several detrimental impacts.

2] Climate Change – Due to long term effects of several factors impacting season change, health, change in migratory patterns, ocean acidity, acid rains etc. Also, resulting in a phenomenon called Polar Amplification, where the ice caps are melted exposing the underlying rocks which in turn, absorb and reflect more heat.

3] Natural Resource depletion- Unscrupulous use of natural resources provided to us by nature. We continue to drain our natural resources with no sign of relenting.

Conventional Sustainable Society:

Till recently, establishing a sustainable society called for integrating three fundamental spheres of a society namely, The Social, the Cultural and the Economic. As the concern about the deteriorating environment became an issue of criticality, the fourth sphere called- The Environment was added. This too was inadequate in understanding the true meaning of sustainability. Unless and otherwise, an individual willfully and ethically participates in achieving the SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS, establishing a sustainable society is not possible. Hence the fifth sphere of ethics (Spiritual) was included.

Science-Spirituality Convergence:

If we see these five spheres, they represent nothing but the Physical, Vital, Mental, Spiritual and the Psychic development of a society as described by Sri Aurobindo. Only when this integration of 5 spheres happen harmoniously, true sustainable society can emerge and manifest.  In a way, Science and Spirituality are converging. We see 20^th and 21^st century to complement this view. Sri Aurobindo and Einstein, both of them extensively delved on the same subject of Matter and Energy, almost simultaneously. While one established matter as the foundation for in the Evolutionary process, the other established a relation between matter and energy. The advent of quantum physics, efforts of several physicists leaning towards the philosophy of Shankara to answer some of the Big questions, stand as testimony of this convergence. Even Stephen Hawking, in his latest book, released after his death, talks about the possibility of a super human on earth. For him, superhuman is a human being who is capable of self-designing his DNA structure and the truth is, we are moving towards this formidable achievement. It is Impossible to judge the logic of the infinite with the logic of the finite. Interestingly, though Stephen hawking is an atheist, he observed about Einstein’s work-“the key element of Einstein’s scientific career lies in his ability to convert his intuitive imagination into experiments applying the laws of physics”.

Identification with the Nature, the Only Way Forward:

In the process of creating a sustainable society and sustainable living, we have consistently ignored the one fundamental aspect which could make this possible: Our identification with the nature, to become one with the nature. Forget the timetables, technologies, and transfers of money from developed nations to developing nations; living in a sustainable way is only possible if we and especially our leaders more deeply understand the very fabric of Nature.

In reality, Spirituality and Sustainability go hand in hand; one cannot proceed without the other. In fact, sustainability is an Attitude, the way of life. A spiritual person cares deeply about people, animals, plants, the oceans and the entire planet. A spiritual person knows that, we are all One. A spiritual person has kindness, compassion, humility as his or her guiding principle and naturally leads a life of sustainable living. Conversely, living in a conscious, sustainable manner promotes spiritual growth. Thus, spiritual evolution makes sustainable living, an essential way of life. Spiritual practice soon reveals the truth that I am a part of the Whole. If I fail to preserve the latter I fail to preserve myself.

The Indian Concept of Sustainability:

Concept of Sustainability is not new to India. Since time immemorial, Indians have lived respecting the nature. The essence of Indian philosophy itself is founded on the very concept of oneness- Prakruthi and Purusha, being the two facets of the same Absolute. We have always revered our planet earth as our Mother– ‘Maata bhumihi, putroham pruthivya’- Many of us, as we get up in the morning, repeat, ‘Samudra vasane devi, Parvatsya Stana mandale, Vishnu patni namastubhayahm, Padasparsham Kshmaswame’- O! Mother Earth, Pardon me as I touch you with my feet. ‘Sarve Janaha Sukhino Bhavantu’ – prays for the wellness of every speck of dust, chara and achara. We even revered our waters. We invited sacred waters of seven rivers while bathing- ‘Gangech, Yamunechiva, Godavari, Sarswati, Narmada Sindhu Kaveri, Jalesmin sannidhim kuru’

But then, what happened? How and where have we lost these exemplary and resplendent vales? As Sri Aurobindo puts it, every society has to pass through different stages in the evolutionary process. The Symbolic age, the typal, the conventional, the individualistic, the age of objectivism, the age of subjectivism and then followed by Spiritualised Society. We are all in the age of Objectivism. Reason, Logic and half-truth-mental perceptions dominate our being. We need to rise above from this stage of objectivism by satisfying it before entering into subsequent stages. Let us now look at the other facet.

When we talk about ‘Sarvam Khalu idam bramh’, the essence of true sustainability is encrypted in the entire universe. To me the entire universe created by the creator is sustainable. Look at the various constants of Nature! How sustainable they are since billions of years!  Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga, the Poorna Yoga, is also called by some as Integral Adavatism of Sri Aurobindo. The triple transformation formula given by Sri Aurobindo, Psychisisation- to look within and make our Self as the guiding force; Spiritualisation-to find All in One and One in All; Supramentalisation-to realize the supramental truth; describes our journey from one state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness, encrypting our journey towards the realms of higher perfection, and the inter-connectedness. Sustainable living is then, just a byproduct of our spiritual journey in the Evolutionary Process. 

Conclusion:

There is no inherent disorder or evil in the universe. Such evil and disorder comes into creation through our ignorance. Present environmental crisis is one of such things. True Sustainable Development calls for conservation and preservation of natural resources and of the environment. This requires a paradigm shift from our present ordinary self-gain mind set to a sustainable mindset. True sustainability is probably the first step towards establishing a spiritualised society, and that is our aim too.

Let us work towards it individually and collectively. The time has come to find reconciliation between all subjects and anti-subjects. As Sri Aurobindo puts it, even by negation, we arrive at the same realization.

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INTEGRAL EDUCATION-THE NEED OF THE HOUR

The present globalisation-culture and the advancement in all fields expect the Future Race to constantly upgrade their knowledge, skills and achieve perfection in the fields of their specialisation. An unavoidable peep into the future shows an inescapable influence of information technology and the internet media acting as the major source of knowledge. This shall surely lead us to a phenomenon wherein there shall be least human touch and very little human interaction. With all this, the future race has to shoulder tremendous responsibility in developing itself and the nation in which all the human needs are met most effectively.

In addition to the conventional knowledge at their command, the Future Race must necessarily acquire those extra dimensions which will help them to assimilate, adopt and adapt to suit the multi dimensional needs of a demanding life style together with the status of an elevated consciousness. Is our current system of education including the teaching methodology advanced enough to produce that Future Race with those extra dimensions far superior to the present one? Or does it call for a paradigm shift in the very approach of education itself? And if such a shift is necessary how do we implement the new system of education compatible to the present one? These are a few questions to be contemplated upon.

The need of the hour is an education that nourishes the total being that shapes our thoughts and emotions, our attitudes and values into universal human qualities like courage, accountability, sincerity, integrity, caring, cooperation and many other life values; an education that develops and inculcates in all students the basic powers of the mind-concentration, memory, observation, critical thinking and creativity; an education that seeks to train the body in agility, strength, flexibility, endurance, balance and poise; and above all, an education that helps the individual to delve deep through and harness the deeper meaning of life. We call it ‘Integral Education’.

Integral Education regards the child as a growing soul and helps to “bring out all that is best, most powerful, and most innate”. It encourages the child to find his/her true self encompassing information and skills, the languages, the sciences, music, dance, theatre and the arts, games and sports, but shifts the focus to self-development, to qualities, faculties, abilities and interests. The ‘learning by rote’ method is replaced by engaging personalised activities and absorbing projects, through a value based learning process.

Learning is a life-long affair and must begin first at home, the immediate community, the country and then move to the world at large. The child’s self development and growth goes hand in hand with connection to her/his roots. Respecting one’s family, culture, country and the earth are our esteemed values. A happy and joyous involvement of the child in education considerably enhances the growth in an atmosphere of freedom and encouragement fostered by the teachers.

Planning commission Report, 2006 calls for qualitative improvements in education reflecting a change in pedagogical methods and lay emphasis on several dimensions, including:

• A shift from methods that emphasize passive learning to those that foster the   active interest and ability of children to learn on their own.
• A shift from rote memorization to development of children’s capacity for critical thinking.
• A shift from traditional academic to practically relevant curriculum.
• A shift from imparting information to imparting life values such as independent thinking, self-reliance and individual initiative that are essential for success in any field of endeavour.

       The report also observes that the primary role of education is to foster in each child the attributes and values of a responsible, capable, active and healthy member of the family and society. The rigidity of curriculum, testing and teaching methods need to be relaxed so that innovative methods and new models of education can be evolved, tested and perfected. Vocational streams have to be developed and expanded to equip larger numbers of high school students with occupation-related knowledge and skills.

Parents, teachers and students are the primary stake holders in the entire process of education in that order. Teacher not as an instructor but as a facilitator has to play a vital role by being a role model   and expected to lay emphasis on acquiring knowledge, attitude and skills related to appreciation of cultural values, dignity of individuals, inclusion, environmental conservation and protection of heritage values. A framework’ brought out by NCERT focuses on the environment in which learners grow and respect the diversity of our nation cherished from times immemorial.

The present system of teaching isolated subjects, programs and activities should give place to the interdisciplinary, integrated and holistic approach. Instead of unsystematic, static content of educational subjects there should be an integral, systematic content of education which represents a continual, integrated and interdisciplinary knowledge which has definite purposes and objectives directed to realization of ideas of sustainable development.

The vision of implementing Integral Education at School level and National level should be both comprehensive and harmonious. It must balance and synthesize all the divergent views and forces that compete in the pursuit of self-perfection. It must be based on an objective assessment of facts and a realistic appraisal of possibilities, yet it must rise beyond the limitations of past trends, immediate preoccupations and pressing challenges to perceive the emerging opportunities and concealed potentials.

The vision should also make us conscious of our cultural and spiritual strengths, which formed the bedrock of our past achievements and should form the foundation of our future accomplishments. Some of our teaching traditions may have to be redefined in the present context to raise confidence in ourselves and a strong determination to realize our full potential. Our vision also should emerge as a living and dynamic reality in the young minds and young hearts of India.

Our endeavour is to build a strong nation with responsive citizens. Values in education have to be taught right from inception through an interdisciplinary approach that enables an integral understanding. 

- Dr. Ajit Sabnis

SIGNIFICANCE OF 24TH NOVEMBER, 1926

24^TH NOVEMBER, 1926 - Its Significance

(Gist of Talk on 24^th November, 2018@ Sri Aurobindo Complex, 

JP Nagar, Bangalore by Dr. Ajit Sabnis)

        24^TH November, 1926 is very special, spiritually significant and auspicious to all of us. We refer to it as Siddhi Day, The day of realization and Mother calls it as The Victory Day. It is one of the milestones in the spiritual odyssey of Sri Aurobindo, in the realms of his Integral Yoga.

          
       What actually happened on that day is better understood by connecting the dots of Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual journey since the time he met Yogi Vishnu Bhasker Lele in 1907, his solitary confinement in Alipore jail between 1908 and 1909 and his acquittal, his Uttarpara speech on 30^th May 1909, his arrival to Pondicherry in 1910, Mother’s final arrival in April 1920 as Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual collaborator, writing most of his philosophical expositions on varied subjects between 1914 and 1920 and continuation of his intense sadhana at Pondicherry till he left his physical body.

            It was in Uttarpara speech, immediately after his coming out from Alipore jail that Sri Aurobindo, for the first time spoke about his spiritual experiences. It was here, in the solitary confinement, the second transition in his spiritual journey experienced-the glimpse of supramental oneness, the experience of Spiritualization, The experience of “All in One and One in All”, the experience of “Vasudevah Sarvam iti”. First transition was experienced by Sri Aurobindo when he first met V B Lele in 1907- the realization of silent Brahman.

It is appropriate to recall the triple transformation formula Sri Aurobindo gave us:

Ø The first step, Psychisization: Shift from surface consciousness to subliminal consciousness leading to widening of our consciousness and True-Self becomes our sole guide.

Ø The second step, Spiritualization: An individual ascends from one state of consciousness to a higher state of consciousness and experiences the essence of “Sarvam Khalu idam Bramha”. This was his second spiritual transition in Alipore jail.

Ø The third step, Supramentalisation: Where the Truth consciousness, the supramental consciousness, descends into an individual and transforms. The first two steps are absolutely essential for this to happen.

            Sri Aurobindo also describes several grades of consciousness implying several grades of mind in his integral yoga; from physical mind to vital mind to mental to higher mind, illumined mind, intuitive mind, overmind and lastly the supermind, the abode of supramental consciousness. It is the Overmind, the plane of overmental consciousness, which is the interface between the two hemispheres, the Aparardha and the Parardha. It is also called as the ‘Golden Lid’. We ascend from inconscient to overmind and by rending which, we enter the divine realm of Supermind; the ascent to supermind and the descent of supramental consciousness are simultaneous.

            But for The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, this was not enough. The aim of Integral yoga is not individual but collective. Their spiritual goal was nothing short of divinization of life upon earth and for this bringing down the Supramental consciousness on earth was essential. It is in this yogic process and as a third transition; the descent of Overmental Consciousness, the Krishna’s Consciousness, into the physical of Sri Aurobindo took place on the day of 24^th November, 1926.

            On this day of November 24th, when Mother met Sri Aurobindo around 4pm, She knew exactly what had happened. She spoke to Sri Aurobindo and sent words for all the sadhaks to assemble. They came and assembled around 6pm and had meditation for about 45 minutes. This time, Mother was the first to bless them followed by Sri Aurobindo, as if informing the devotees that it is She who will take care of you from now onwards. Some felt tremendous pressure; some saw rush of light and some saw transformed Sri Aurobindo. From this day, Sri Aurobindo went into seclusion and daily evening talks and meets involving Sri Aurobindo discontinued.

Mother also indicated starting of Sri Aurobindo Ashram with 24 sadhaks from this day. And from this day onwards, Sri Aurobindo actually started signing as Sri Aurobindo.

There is another important incident that took place on 25^th November, 1926 and many would not know this. This was called the day of Immortality by the Mother. Champaklal had arranged ‘swastik’ rangoli that day. Mother asked him who told you to draw this symbol. Then She told him it represented immortality and that day, 25^th November, the principle of immortality also descended and settled in earth consciousness. This was not publicized at that point in time as per the instructions of the Mother. Subsequently, this appeared in Deepti and Mother India.

Thus, Sri Aurobindo has not given us only the spiritual theory of Integral yoga but has shown us how by being in a human form, transformation can be achieved.

Let us bow to our great Masters with all our humility in command for showing us the way forward.

Pranams !!

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