Thursday, March 05, 2009

Prahlad, the Greatest

Alexander, Ashoka and Akbar are the three celebrities enjoying the title of ‘the great’ for right, wrong or no reasons in our part of the world. While the first one was a cruel invader and the second one a clear native, the third one was a hybrid (though he tried to be more of a native but belonged to lineage of invaders). All three have made their own contributions to history that have impacted the life of ordinary Indians and continues to produce social aftershocks even today. Inclusion of one each from Hindu, Christian and Muslim communities in the Indian great-trio seems to be yet another handiwork of suicidal secularism propagated by the dominant folk of leftist-historians in India. Though debatable whether it is mandatory to agree with these worthless historians, let us leave the trio as such for the sake of saving our time. But it is definitely warranted to search for more greats and even the greatest from our own history. I find no better candidate than Bhakta Prahlad to be anointed as the greatest.

Skewed JNU historians will definitely frown on this choice because, according to them, Bhakta Prahlad is part of our mythology and not recorded history. But how is the two differentiated when we have all ‘mythological’ landmarks associated with Ramayana and Mahabharata readily available in front of eyes and none related to the over-publicized ‘historical’ visit of Saint Thomas to India in 52 AD? Yet we are told and taught that Lord Ram and Lord Krishna were mythological figures, but Saint Thomas was a historical truth!! The humiliating effect of such distorted historical studies, imposed earlier by the British and now by the followers of suicidal secularism, has already destroyed the self-respect of three or four generations of Indians since 1947. It is now time for those who love India and its true history to re-discover the true heroes from our own version of history, of which our mythology is an integral part. Scanning back from the heights of human knowledge as of today, Bhakta Prahlad who revealed the eternally truthful concepts of Advaita and Evolution stands out as one of the greatest ever in human history.

Omnipresent Ishwar

It took almost two thousand years of Western history to reach the conclusion that energy and matter are same and interchangeable. But it was a simple truth known to a boy like Bhakta Pahlad during immemorial times. In fact he went a step further when he said that Ishwar is present everywhere. He knew that Ishwar is energy, Ishwar is matter and Ishwar is everywhere and everything. Seed of the supreme and matchless philosophy of Advaita was sown in human mind then and thereon. When Ishwar is present in everything, its presence in energy, humans, animals and inanimate is understood. It took millions or thousands of years for Adi Sankara to pick up the thread again and enunciate it further. And we had to wait until Albert Einstein to put together an expression (e=mc^2) for a part of the grand theory of Advaita. The equation between Ishwar and energy or matter is still awaited.

By declaring to his father Hiranyakasipu that Ishwar is present everywhere, Bhakta Prahlad also made the profound statement that Ishwar is present within him too. According to me, this is the most significant statement ever made by any individual in the history of mankind. By one simple statement Bhakta Prahlad broke the myths of an external entity of Ishwar and the concepts about other worlds. The whole universe including its animate and inanimate is only manifestations of Ishwar and IT is present in everywhere in everything at every time. The recorded revelation of Ishwar in an appropriate form to Hiranyakasipu from the nearest pillar proves this beyond even an iota of doubt. Now it takes only our own efforts to understand this simple truth and realize the Ishwar within each of us to usher in a truly socialistic, secular and sustainable society anywhere in the world.

Evolutionary Narasimha

In the bicentennial year of Charles Darwin who is credited with the discovery of human evolution, it must be difficult for the Western world to digest that the concept of evolution was illustrated to the whole world by a simple devotee during immemorial times in India. The biography of Bhakta Prahlad is too well known for all lovers of our mythology. When confronted by his ignoramus father as to demonstrate the existence of Ishwar everywhere, Bhakta Prahlad had little choice but to point to the nearest pillar. And what came out of the shattered pillar was an eye-opener not only for Hiranyakasipu but to the entire scientific world. The form Ishwar (remember IT is everything everywhere everytime) chose was the form of Narasimha, half lion and half human. This peculiar form not only opened Hiranyakasipu’s eyes, but revealed so many truths to body of human knowledge.

The fearful form of half-lion and half-man is a symbolic combination of the most powerful among animals and humans. The meaningful figure depicts a critical stage of evolution of animal into human form. If Advaita concept connects the inanimate to the animate, the majestic form of Narasimha points to an evolutionary trend from animals into humans. It is indeed difficult for any other religion other than Hinduism to accept the truth in evolution. But for a Hindu like Bhakta Prahlad there was no better way than presenting Narasimha Moorthy to illustrate the truth in evolution. The ten incarnations of Ishwar, some in animal form and some in human form, in an evolutionary cycle confirm the concept of evolution in no uncertain terms.

It is a well known ‘secret’ that the twin concepts of Advaita and Evolution have shattered the very foundations of many established religions in the present day world. Myths of monopoly god, its father, holy spirit, prophets, angels, paradise etc., are completely meaningless in world which knows about evolution of species and that energy, matter and Ishwar are all one and the same. But for the political agenda behind these religious facades, the entire humanity would have discarded them by now. It is now only a matter of time before every human recognize the Ishwar within and try realizing in his or her own lifetime. And when that happens, the first human who can claim to have led them out of ignorance will definitely be etched in human history as Bhakta Prahlad, the greatest.

Gulfdog Billionaires

Dogs are famous not only for their faithfulness and ferocity, but also for their helplessness and servitude as well. Barring a minority of dogs with European pedigree most of the other dogs in the world fall into the category of either underdogs or now, slumdogs. Both have only sad stories to tell and it is no surprise that their counterparts in the human society are becoming more vocal, visible and violent in recent times. In the bigger canvas of national and international dimensions, all slumdog humans are essentially underdogs in their environment and fields of activity. The simple fact that a few slumdogs from the infamous Dharavi slum in Mumbai could dance onstage in the famous Kotak theatre during the Oscar awards does not alter their ground realities. Those poor children will soon return to their homes amidst all depredation and feeling of unwantedness.

The unprecedented success of slumdog movie will help in focusing our attention of many other types of underdogs prevalent in the current Indian context. One such growing category of underdogs in the last few decades is the case of Indians in the Gulf. The entire Middle East region is now flooded with fortune seekers from the Asian subcontinent and the physical & psychological condition of a majority of them are nothing but that of underdogs. The nouveau riche Arab nations in the Gulf have been enjoying the fruits of highly talented labour force from India at abysmally low charges for almost three decades now. No doubt, India and Indians have benefitted quite a lot in terms of huge foreign exchange remittances and avenues for employment in these Gulf nations. But no one can deny the fact that such prolonged periods of working in closely monitored working conditions have produced a new breed of underdogs and let us name them as ‘gulfdogs’. And many such gulfdogs have managed to become billionaires too.

Slavish Environment

Living conditions of Indians in the Gulf labour camps was a hot topic that was catching up just prior to the start of the current melt down. Flock of politicians and social activists from India were aiming to harvest some attention highlighting the condition of Indian gulfdogs in these labour camps when the meltdown tsunami waves swept away their plans. The biggest concentration of such notorious camps is in UAE and most of them will be deserted in the next few months time. The condition of labour camps in many of the other Gulf states is even worse but it will never attract the same attention as the Dubai charm for Indian politicians. Much tougher access and almost complete opaque human rights conditions will make it difficult for anyone to even witness the reality in these camps. If the notorious Gulf labour camps represent the heights of physical atrocities, the unquestioning atmosphere prevalent in offices and business sector symbolize the peculiar form of modern day slavery that is unique in the Middle East.

South Asia provides the major chunk of labour force and the bulwark of official and business hierarchy in the Gulf countries. A majority of them are Indians and a majority of Indians come from Kerala. Thus Keralites (Malabaris to the Arabs) constitute the bulk of gulfdogs in the Middle East. Thanks to the high literacy levels in Kerala, a significant section of gulfdogs are educated and qualified. Even among the working category, the Malabari gulfdogs stand out as intelligent, literate and skilful. While the slavish hierarchy in the workforce is quite evident, the same mentality is subtle in the office and business. Most of the owners are Arabs but those who wield the real power are either Whites or other Arabic speaking nationals. And at the very bottom of the hierarchy you will invariably find gulfdogs who contribute the maximum but benefit the minimum. Their virtual image (in three piece suits) looks impressive but the real condition of most of them is indeed pathetic.

Crabbish Mentality

Crabs, like dogs, are a set of animals that correlate well with humans in behavior. There is a saying that crabs, held in captivity, in a large glass container need not be covered at all. It is difficult for anyone to climb on glass walls, but in the case of crabs it is impossible because each one of them will pull down the other who is trying to escape. It is quite natural to have this sort of crabbish mentality in any society where the struggle for survival and success is at its peak. Gulf scenario is an opportunity for making quick bucks and the crabbish mentality reaches great proportions among the vast population of gulfdogs. It must be no better among the more qualified tech-coolies in Europe and America as well. But the modus operandi will be more subtle and polished among them when compared to the gulfdogs. Outright cheating, backstabbing and faith betrayal are much more common among gulfdogs than among any other community. Recent instance of one highly successful slumdog billionaire arranging barber training in India for Arabs to backstab his own fellow gulfdog barbers is a revealing one. And the story ends with the said gulfdog billionaire bagging “Pravsai Samman” from Government of India !! Another one has recently been awarded for increasing the fees in Indian schools by a whopping 300%.

There are legendary episodes of betrayals among gulfdogs which are unbelievable. When success or failure of years of toil comes to a choice between standing by or betraying another gulfdog, most of the gulfdogs fall for the devil. Most of the businesses run by gulfdogs are built on such betrayals. It is said most of the hypermarkets, hospitals, hospitalities, money exchanges, gold businesses, contracting companies are built on tainted money which gets more tainted by the sweat and blood of fellow gulfdogs. Many gulfdogs have become lakhpatis, millionaires and billionaires in the process. Just a few examples in gold business (profit margin is merely 1%) where scores of gulfdog billionaires have come up in a span of one decade is good enough to highlight the extent of loot by billionaire gulfdogs of fellow gulfdogs. It is a typical DED(dog-eat-dog) syndrome at its heights.

Kerala has the biggest share of gulfdogs and naturally the highest number of gulfdog billionaires. Every district in the state has atleast one or a few such ‘success’ stories. Many of them have struggled their way up by buttering Arabs and looting fellow gulfdogs. For the Arabs, all Asians are gulfdogs but many of the gulfdogs who understand their language well misunderstand the attitude of masters. Arabs were quick to recognize this opportunity and have institutionalized systems where gulfdogs are employed to spy and pry on fellow gulfdogs. It can be easily established that atleast a few of the gulfdog billionaires have made it thanks to their shameless efforts in betraying their own countrymen and country. Another movie titled ‘Gulfdog Billionaire’ will definitely yield a truck load of Oscars for India.