Rampal never understood Kabir and his teachings

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

Pothi padh padh jag mua, pandit bhayo na koye dhai aakhar prem ke, padhe so pandit hoye (So many in the world died reading books, none became any wiser. One who reads and understands love, becomes wise).

This is one of the most popular couplet or doha of Kabir, written centuries ago, triggering a wave of thoughts and philosophy, enriching Indian spirituality.

Now in 2014, we find someone who claims to be a follower of Kabir but forgot the language of love which the great mystic poet and writer espoused. While peddling his ware in the spiritual market of the country, Sant Rampal, now in custody, simply forgot that it was only through love and compassion that takes you far not violence, bloodshed and a luxurious lifestyle.

It was surprising and rather sad to see a self-styled godman and Sant in police custody, holding on to the iron bars of the small barrack. His photographs inside a police lockup in Panchkula, flashed all over the world, were a poor testimony to the techniques and methods which he adopted to take on the might of the Indian State. I sometimes wonder how Rampal managed to have so many followers, spread in several States, if his understanding of Kabir was so misplaced and if he did not even have the basic understanding of how a Government functions.

Rampal himself blamed it to “bad luck”. But surely, it was not bad luck. It was a bunch of law-breakers holding the Indian State to ransom. Had Rampal presented himself to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the contempt case for which he was summoned in the first place, he would have got bail. This is what ultimately happened when he appeared in the court as he was given bail in the contempt of court case for which the non-bailable warrants had been issued. But his wisdom went for a toss as he decided to test the might of the Indian judiciary and the State Government for several days.

Now, Rampal says that he was held “captive” by his followers and did not know that the police were looking for him... That he was meditating... so on and so forth. What kind of a leader, religious or spiritual, you are if you do not know what is happening around you and do not guide your followers and supporters?

In the entire episode, imagine the plight of the average person who had faith in Rampal. He must be shattered to know that the person whom he considered his God and supreme turned out to be an offender, did not even have common  sense, was surrounded and guided by criminal minded people and was hellbent on destruction. The faith of the simple, common devotees would be shattered forever and this crime is unpardonable. This shakes the very belief of an average devotee and is there a bigger crime against humanity than this?

Here I would quote the great poet Rahim, rahiman dhaga prem ka matt todo chhitkay toote se phir na jure, jure ganth padh jaaye (Do not ever break the thread of love. If it breaks, it cannot be the same again. Even if it joins, there would be marks). Clearly, Rampal has broken the faith which his disciples had in him and this will haunt him for the rest of his life whether it is spent in jail or even if he comes out of it after a few years.

If one goes through the information for disciples on the official website of Rampal, I am sure many would be impressed. It is a different matter that the 63-year-old junior engineer in Haryana Government turned preacher, hardly practiced what he preached. In his 20 odd instructions to disciples, I hardly find one or two objectionable as the rest is prescribed by all spiritual leaders for austerity and discipline.

He strictly bans consumption of all intoxicating substances which in a way is good for the society. Going to places of pilgrimage was prohibited by Rampal perhaps to cater to the sentiments of the lower strata and poor people who thronged his ashram and to save them from pangs of guilt. He also banned visits to temples which most people find objectionable and was one of the reasons why Arya Samaj followers attacked his ashram in Karontha in Rohtak district a few years ago. Instead he himself assumed the role of God, something clearly abhorrent. But he also said that God is omnipresent and is present in every article — a thinking outlined by several Indian philosophical thoughts.

Rampal also prohibits worship of pitras (ancestors), worship of any other God or Goddess and asks followers to obey his orders instead. This led to blind faith amongst his followers, something which led to the defiance of the police, courts and the State Government for several days at the Barwala ashram in Hisar. He bans various rituals associated with birth and death in families and instead favours austerity.

Rampal also prohibited adultery terming it a heinous crime saying one should look upon other women as mother, daughter and sister. Another direction was to prohibit indulging in criticism and hearing it, particularly of the Guru. Consumption of meat prohibited by Rampal and described as a heinous sin if violence is directed against living creatures. However, he never seem to have followed his own philosophy as he was accused of murder previously and now he faces a series of fresh criminal cases, including that of murder and treason.

Gambling and playing cards were also prohibited along with singing and dancing. Similarly practicing untouchability was prohibited and so was giving and accepting dowry. If any devotee did not follow these orders, his initiation as Rampal’s disciple came to an end, said the website.

I have taken all these from the website of Rampal to illustrate what his thoughts were and what his philosophy was to deconstruct the mystery of the self-styled godman. The website quotes Kabir almost everywhere who was the supreme though now everyone knows that the teachings of the medieval mystic saint was practiced more in defiance even though that remained the avowed philosophy. Food and stay was available free of cost to the devotees and there is no charge for initiation. That perhaps explains how around 20,000 devotees, most of them poor, stayed in the 12-acre ashram most of the time. 

A detailed empirical study is needed to understand why deras flourish in Punjab and Haryana in such large numbers and why almost every village in the two States has a dera for the spiritual succour of the people. They have enormous political and financial clout and come handy during elections when their directive helps political parties and contesting candidates.

There is a lesson for everyone in the Rampal episode — for the common devotees who repose their faith in such saints, for the police and administration for overlooking the excesses of the deras over a period of time and for the politicians and the political parties who try to woo them and through the heads, get votes of their supporters. We have seen this happening over the years and I am sure that despite the Rampal episode, no one would learn the lessons. It was time the episode is taken as a case study and appropriate lessons learnt. (November 24, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/rampal-never-understood-kabir-and-his-teachings.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/2014-11-23-73540.html

Over to national Capital Delhi again

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

A lot of water, or rather sewage, has flown down the Yamuna in the last one year. Despite the constant of the Yamuna, rapid political changes have taken place in the national Capital and a new political dispensation is firmly in place.

The only constant perhaps is political uncertainty regarding the State Government as many pundits argue that the results of 2013 polls would be replicated again. Last year, the people of Delhi gave a hung House after throwing out the Sheila Dikshit Government. In a few weeks from now, they would be voting for a fresh government and the votaries of stability argue against a similar mandate and hope for a clear verdict this time round.

Delhi will be an interesting case study for pollsters this time again. Many find it difficult to explain the rise of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a regional player in the national Capital, taking over the vote base of the Congress. The few remaining Congress loyalists, on the other hand, still can’t pin point the reasons for its political humiliation at the hands of AAP in Delhi and its decimation all over the country by Narendra Modi-led BJP.

Congress continues with its infighting, dynasty worship, lack of a big idea, sycophancy, defending the indefensible, and its refusal to introspect and accept the ground realities. There is little or no reason to believe that it will bounce back unless it reassesses and reinvents itself. It is difficult to imagine Congress doing that in the short run. So it is safe to write off the Congress from the political space of Delhi, at least in the Assembly polls, expected in another two months.

That makes the Assembly polls a straight contest between a resurgent BJP and a defensive Aam Aadmi Party for the 70 seats of Delhi. Bucking the trend of smaller states of giving unstable governments, Delhi always gave a clear mandate ever since the State Assembly came into being in 1993. The only exception, of course, was the 2013 polls which threw a hung House after Congress was decimated and AAP substituted it effectively. This was also the first time in two decades when the monopoly of two parties was effectively broken.

As the entire focus and energy of AAP is now limited to Delhi, it has tried to reinvent itself and move away from its corruption, Jan Lokpal, bijli and paani (power and water) issues. As the threat of BJP wiping away all the gains of AAP and reducing it to a fringe player is always there, Kejriwal and his team is trying to become more accommodative. It has now launched a five-point programme for students and youth of Delhi ahead of the ensuing Delhi Assembly polls. It may not be getting the media attention as it got last year but as a part of its Delhi vision, the party has announced education loan for every student in Delhi after Class XII for a period of six years, including one year for job start and setting up of 20 new Delhi Government colleges in outer Delhi in partnership with villages.

The Modi effect was also visible in the announcement of “Delhi Skill Mission” through which it hopes to create five-seven lakh jobs in five years. Whatever the motivation, AAP has tried to reinvent itself and has used the medium of youth. It knows that every family has a youth in Delhi and they influence the decision making of the family. This is clever politics ahead of the polls. So when AAP leader Yogendra Yadav challenges BJP and the Congress to spell out their agenda for the youth, he has struck the right notes.

Skill development and income generation is another focus area of the party that has chalked out a well-thought out roadmap for the same. To bridge the skill-gap in the national Capital, the party will not only promote vocational education and skill development in schools and colleges, but also create innovative and private start up accelerators to provide support to entrepreneurs.

Apart from spelling out its agenda, AAP is first off the blocks to declare its list of candidates, giving them enough time to prepare for the polls. The remaining names would be declared anytime now and if there are changes, it can be made in the run up to the polls.

Clearly, Congress and BJP are far behind as of now. For AAP, Delhi Assembly polls are a matter of life and death. If it does well, it survives politically; if it doesn’t the epitaph writers are ready.

Basking in the glory of Modi, BJP hopes to do well and form the Government on its own by crossing the magic figure of 35. However, unlike the last time when Dr Harsh Vardhan was the chief ministerial candidate, the party has refrained from announcing any names. A section of the party believes that after the ENT specialist from Krishna Nagar, Dr Harsh Vardhan was divested of the Health Ministry and given a lighter charge in Modi Cabinet, he could well be brought in as the chief ministerial candidate again.

This will obviously give a fillip to the party’s campaign as he is acceptable to all sections in the party. Besides, this, BJP will also have to come out with a specific agenda for Delhi and not limit itself to the vision of Modi alone as local factors do play a significant role in the final outcome. To give a leg up to the preparations, BJP’s different morchas and cells are organising workers’ meetings in different areas and ongoing membership campaign is being intensified. But obviously, the trump card remains Modi and BJP has decided that the work he has initiated after coming to power in May would be made into a poll issue.

Coming back to the Congress, clearly it is nursing its wound, inflicted everywhere. It will take time for the party to recoup and martial its resources. Even the staunchest Congress supporter admits this. Sheila Dikshit, who lost last year, was just a symptom of the disease plaguing the party. She obviously can’t be the face of the party for the assembly polls. Ajay Maken would also prefer to remain in the AICC as General Secretary rather than head for the Assembly polls where a defeat is certain.

I earnestly hope that Congress organises a brain storming session spanning over several days where free and frank opinion is exchanged within the party and it comes out with ideas and strategy to suit the changing times in all States and the country.

It is too early to predict the outcome of Delhi polls. A lot of water will flow down the Yamuna in the next few weeks when the campaign picks up; a lot of dirty linen will be washed publicly. Several strategies will be drawn and then redrawn. Many skeletons will come out of the cupboards. For BJP, Delhi is no longer as important as it was in 2013 and will only cement its base for forward march, for AAP it’s a question of political revival and survival; and for Congress it will show whether it still has the spirit to fight or has even lost that. (November 17, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/over-to-national-capital-delhi-again.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/2014-11-16-72741.html

Older than history, legend and tradition, Benares needs a Facelift

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

The last I went to Varanasi or Kashi was a little over a year ago when it was not yet the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I go there again and again for one simple reason — getting overawed and mesmerised by the feeling of religiosity all around and to see the faith which the common devotees have for Lord Shiva and his city unfold in myriad hues.

My conviction in Sanatan Dharma and in the cycle of life and death grows stronger whenever I watch the evening ghats of the ancient city from a boat in the middle of the Ganga — preparation for the grand evening aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat and the rituals of cremation after death at the Mani Karnika Ghat, both on the same side of the holy Ganges.

That was my fourth visit to Benares, the name I prefer for the holy city where I enjoy every moment, watching the pilgrims and soaking in their faith, watching stray cattle harmlessly roaming on the streets and looking at ancient traces in a rapidly growing modern city. In fact, becoming a part of the crowd and doing what they do gives immense pleasure and you never feel out of place anywhere, whether at the temples, ghats, monuments in and around the city or the numerous bazaars all around.

However, despite all this diversity and religiosity all around, what is striking here is the litter and filth all over the place, even near the ghats, temples and frankly everywhere. Stray cattle roam on the popular Dashashwamedh Ghat right down to the steep steps leading to the Ganga. There was cow dung all around and the stench of cow urine enveloped the ghat. Like Millions of Hindus in this country, I too consider cow a sacred animal but I could not and did not want to sit on the ghat in the daytime as the stench from cowdung and urine was overbearing.

Of course, Ganga in Benares was suffering due to the manmade crisis also. The river was extremely polluted, there was hardly any flow in the month of March and the riverbank was full of garbage thrown in the still waters. All types of used puja material, stale flower and leaves, was thrown carelessly in the river even as boats of all hues made it a sort of parking mess in the Ganga and there was utter chaos all around. This diluted the feeling which one had towards the city and the river to some extent. The realisation soon dawned that the entire chaos, litter, garbage and pollution was manmade and if one started with a zeal, there wouldn’t be a holy city like Benares in the entire world.

Much water had flown down the Dashashwamedh and Mani Karnika Ghat since then. Narendra Modi is not only the MP from the holy city but also the Prime Minister of the country and most importantly, he has taken a pledge for Swachchh Bharat. Modi was also on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency, which was his first after the thanksgiving visit soon after the victory in the Lok Sabha polls in May.

I have not been to Benares after Modi won in the Lok Sabha polls. But due to sheer curiosity, I called an acquaintance who is a regular visitor to the city to find out if any changes had taken places after the results of the general elections. At least my acquaintance did not find any except that the people were talking about Swachchh Bharat campaign though it was hardly being implemented on the ground in the city. He talked about some NGOs running cleanliness campaign near the popular ghats but hasn’t yet noticed a permanent solution.

It will be in fitness of things if I write on cleanliness on the ghats and in and around the temples only after a visit to Benares. I will do that soon. But surely as an avid lover of whatever Benares represents — the culture, the continuity, religion and spirituality — there could be a few suggestions thrown in due to my experience of four visits in the city, considered older than civilisation itself in mythology.

Modi often talks about the Narmada riverfront in Ahmedabad in his speeches and in fact, all those who have been there, have a word of appreciation in the way it has been transformed. People in Benares are waiting for a similar transformation.

Why can’t corporate houses take over the maintenance and cleanliness of the ghats? They can put up their signboards and even advertisements free of cost if they provide funds, manpower, energy and ideas for the purpose. I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t given that it is the constituency of the Prime Minister and it would be beneficial to be in his good books.  Also, the kind of footfall Benares and its ghats has, the message would spread far and wide that so and so corporate house is supporting the project and it is sure to build the brand value of their product and further strengthen it. Several NGOs, banks etc have come forward to clean the ghats but no one is yet thinking of finding a permanent solution —building a corpus and a vision for the next 10-20 years to start with.

Then you have the problem of stray cattle, flooding the streets of Benares. To me the solution is simple. Build enough cowsheds in and around Benares either through Central funds or rope in NGOs, charitable organisations or corporate houses. Manage these cowsheds well, get all the stray cattle here and see the result on cleanliness of Benares. I am sure, once the stray cattle go to the cowsheds from the narrow streets, a lot of problem of cleanliness would automatically be taken care of. I have seen efficient, well-managed cowsheds in Chandigarh and other places. People line up to feed the bovines for religious reasons; they get enough donations and are generally self-sufficient. The model can be replicated in Benares easily and there is no rocket science involved here. You only require an administrative acumen to do this and appointment of a good officer would easily take care of that.

Cleaning of river Ganga is, of course, a multi-pronged and time-consuming exercise as there are several culprits. Too many people and industries are guilty here, there are multiple agencies involved and the geographical area spreading pollution is wide — from Hardwar to Kanpur and then Allahabad to Benares. Build sewage treatment plants wherever feasible, fine and punish those who are releasing toxic waste and poison in the holy river, get experts on board to find ways and means to increase the water flow... Get all the stakeholders on a common platform, form a committee, look for the problem and solution in the same meeting. Make it Mission Mode, target-oriented with single-minded purpose of making Ganga clean.

Another aspect which the Prime Minister can look into is to make the visit of the lakhs and crores of pilgrims from all over the country more comfortable. During my last visit, I found each and every inch of space in the railway station compound occupied by the pilgrims, speaking all languages of the country. It was practically impossible even to walk on the railway platforms and the huge railway compound in the evening hours. The situation was similar in practically all the vacant public space in the city like the bus stands.

I hope the Government will look into the modalities of constructing mega halls and hygienic open spaces with clean toilets to facilitate the poor pilgrims of the country. If the Government cannot do it on its own, rope in whoever is needed, provide land and infrastructure and get this done. Whoever takes the initiative and does this will never be short of blessings of the poor pilgrims.

I am sure Modi must be looking at all these issues and much more. He wielded the broom when he launched the Swachchh Bharat campaign and now the spade during his two-day Benares visit. He perhaps realises that through symbolism you can create a consciousness about cleanliness in the psyché of an individual.

There is a plan to infuse a massive funding for the facelift of the city and it may be launched by the end of the year. But for me, the success of the plan would be when I don’t see any filth and garbage on the ghats, there is illumination on the riverbank, the stray cattle live peacefully in cowsheds and the traffic in the city becomes orderly during my next visit.

I also want to see better flow in the still waters of the Ganga, development of the eastern banks of the holy river and aquatic life back in the water during my next visit. Hundreds of millions of Indians like me who have faith in Benares, Sanatan Dharma and Indian civilisation would cherish that day. (November 10, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/2014-11-09-71886.html  

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/older-than-history-legend-and-tradition-benares-needs-a-facelift.html

Why ailing Congress is in the sick bed?

VIEWPOINT

AMITABH SHUKLA

Though it was widely expected that Congress will lose both Maharashtra and Haryana after three and two terms of governance respectively, the resounding defeat has triggered a fresh round of debate on the survival of the party under a dynasty which has clearly been caught in the law of diminishing returns.

It would indeed be sad if the fortunes of Congress continue to slide the way it is happening all over the country. India needs a robust democratic set-up and if Congress vacates even the opposition space so easily, it does not bode well for parliamentary democracy. In both Haryana and Maharashtra, Congress remained in the third position. BJP may be going gung-ho with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of “Congress-Mukt Bharat” but I am sure, even Modi would like an electoral and parliamentary challenge. At the national level, only Congress has the history and ability to do that.

Now you have Assembly elections in Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir. In both States, Congress had been a part of the ruling coalition and has broken off from their alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and National Conference. Given profound anti-incumbency in both the States, a divided anti-BJP Opposition and a resurgent BJP under Modi, it is a foregone conclusion that Congress will again bite the dust. I am not sticking my neck out to say who would win in the two states, but surely I can safely say that Congress would lose.

But the Lok Sabha polls, followed by Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls, are merely the symptoms of the disease plaguing Congress. I will explain one — the approach of Congress towards social media.

The party has become a butt of jokes on the social media, Rahul Gandhi has become a punching bag on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp and there is no plan or strategy to counter that. Remember, it was the social media which contributed in making the image of Modi. Forget the number of users though it is huge by any standards; remember the cascading effect of such message filtering down to the lowest common denominator in electoral politics. This is a classic case of Congress running away from reality, like an animal closing its eyes in case of danger. Ask a party person about the visibility of Rahul and the party on the social media and the standard reply is that these things do not get votes and their voters do not use social media. What a rubbish argument! When you are not up to the challenge, cannot comprehend change, you simply start blaming everyone and everything except yourself. This is what is happening with the grand old party.

There are no two opinions that Congress is facing its worst crisis ever since it came into electoral politics after Independence. Whatever the Congress spokespersons say about the ability of vice-president Rahul Gandhi and his so called vision, disappointment has spread far and wide in the party rank and file. An average Congress worker knows that a reluctant person is being pushed for the mantle of leadership even though he himself is hardly interested. Congress under the 44-year-old Gandhi has lost one election after the other. He has accepted defeats after defeats, all his political strategy or lack of it exposed in one election after the other.  Using accounting terminology, he has nothing to show in the column of “credit” while the list of “debit” is increasing with every election. How can the average Congress worker get enthused with Rahul Gandhi if he continues to preside over one defeat after the other?

It was a comic relief to find AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh saying Rahul should take the charge of the party from Sonia Gandhi. Come on, Mr Singh. You are an astute politician and two-time Chief Minister. You know for sure that Rahul is running the party and not Sonia Gandhi. Why don’t you introspect and look for the real issues and causes which have led to the terminal decline of Congress. These are merely superficial, diversion tactics which won’t help the party at all. After al,l sycophancy of the Congress variety for the dynasty has been one of the greatest enemies of the party. It was time, Congress realises that and stop rewarding rootless wonders like Digvijay Singh.

Congress spokespersons and hardcore supporters continue to argue that electoral reverses which began in the Assembly polls in December 2013 (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi) and peaked in Lok Sabha elections in May and continues unabated (Haryana and Maharashtra) is a temporary phenomenon and party would bounce back. They continue to remind you of 1977,   1989 and then in 1999 when party was on back foot due to electoral reverses. But they fail to point out that the challenge this time round is far more severe and robust. They also do not comprehend the Modi factor in entirety, his sense of timing, political understanding, symbolism which he encompasses, his charisma and the way he seems like a fresh breeze to a large number of people who are not even BJP supporters. They fail to understand that the contrast with the previous Congress regime is so sharp that even after coming to power, Modi and BJP has only increased its support base. While the base of BJP under Modi is expanding that of Congress under Rahul and Sonia Gandhi is declining rapidly. Comprehending the problem is always the first step for finding a solution. Here, Congress does not even want to have a grasp of the problem, leave alone looking for reasons for solution.

The economic ideas of the Congress in 2014 too seem to be a straight lift from the socialist ideas of Jawaharlal Nehru which were themselves inspired by the then Soviet Union. Times have changed, ideas have changed, generations have changed but Congress continues to bank on poverty for making electoral gains. Heavy subsidies, food to poor, doles to the rural population etc, cannot be the substitutes for economic growth. Such ideas need a thorough re-look as it has lost favor now, being half a century old. Congress has to look beyond poverty and food and speak about the aspirations of the people in this millennium. The days of “rights” based economic policies are over.

Besides, Congress politics based on entitlement and birth, simply put dynastic politics, is simply out of tune with the present realities where aspirations and meritocracy is being talked about. You have a Modi who was a tea seller, you have a Manohar Lal Khattar who ran a shop, you have a Devendra Fadnavis who has risen from the ranks… You have countless others. Then you have a Rahul Gandhi whose great grandfather, grandmother and father were Prime Ministers and whose mother practically ran the country for 10 years. This may not be a fault of Rahul but surely the young, restless youth find fault with this entitlement of dynasty. No wonder despite being almost two-decade younger than Modi, Rahul hardly has any support base amongst the youth of the country. The youth think that if they join politics, they have a chance in BJP but stand no chance in Congress where all positions are occupied by those who had a father or grandfather in politics.

All is not lost. Congress still has the support base to spring a surprise if it reinvents as per the changing times and match BJP step by step. Obviously this cannot be done with the kind of economic policies it pursues, the kind of leadership it wants to impose and keeps a blind eye to the changes taking place all around. In May, Congress still had 20 per cent of the electorate supporting it, suggesting that time was for a thorough review and introspection to hold on to its base and consolidate from thereon. But the party neither learnt any lessons from the drubbing nor wants to. It continues the way it has been for years and decades. That, of course, is the sign of terminal illness for a political party and terminal decline. (November 3, 2014)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/why-ailing-congress-is-in-the-sick-bed.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/why-ailing-cong-is-in-sick-bed.html