Women as Agents of Change -- Sonia Gandhi's Commonwealth Lecture
London, 17th March, 2011
I. Introductory Remarks
Prime Minister, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Foundation, Secretary General, Distinguished Guests, I am honoured to deliver the fourteenth Commonwealth lecture on the theme of women as agents of change. It was an invitation I could not refuse for two reasons – first, my own personal involvement in the cause of women’s empowerment, particularly that of Indian women who constitute some 60 per cent of all the women in the Commonwealth; and second, my family’s close association with this organization.
II. India and the Commonwealth
The modern Commonwealth owes much to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It is ironic that a man imprisoned for so many years by the imperial masters of his country should have become so crucial for the survival and evolution of the Commonwealth. During the long years of India’s freedom struggle, membership had been widely opposed, implying as it did dominion status and allegiance to the Crown. Yet, in the aftermath of Partition and the polarised world scene, Nehru, the student of world history, saw that the Commonwealth could be a bridge between the dying world of Empire and the new post-colonial world being born. Nehru, the statesman, saw merit in an institution that sought to build bridges at many levels between countries and peoples.
Indira Gandhi valued the Commonwealth in a less idealised way than her father. She shared a personal bond with the leading Commonwealth figures of her time and brought to it a special focus on the development needs of its members.
I accompanied my husband Rajiv Gandhi to successive Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings and remember some of the colourful episodes that took place behind the scenes. To give you just one example, at the 1985 CHOGM in the Bahamas, the issue of sanctions against South Africa dominated the discussions. Margaret Thatcher stood out in solitary opposition to the rest of the Commonwealth’s call for sanctions against the apartheid regime. At the weekend retreat, Shridath Ramphal put together a three-member team to talk informally to Mrs. Thatcher and persuade her to relent. They were Rajiv Gandhi, Brian Mulroney of Canada and Robert Hawke of Australia, selected by him apparently as much for their looks as their political weight.
In private, he jokingly told them: ― She will not be able to resist the three best-looking men of the Conference.
The Iron Lady was unmoved and the handsome threesome failed either to charm or to persuade her. Thus was the stage set for the most heated political confrontation in the Commonwealth’s history.
At the subsequent Vancouver CHOGM in 1987, Rajiv Gandhi pledged India’s support to the establishment of the Commonwealth of Learning, which has played such a significant role in improving the quality of distance education in our country. India has always been in the forefront of important cooperation initiatives launched by the Commonwealth and I am sure will continue to be so.
I am particularly glad about the theme for this lecture. Women are disproportionately vulnerable in our world, even today. The global economic downturn of recent years has hurt them hardest. Similarly, climate change and environmental degradation exact a greater price from women, who have less access to resources, technology and credit. Conflict and warfare impose their own terrible toll. And it bears repeating that in many countries a girl is less likely to go to school, get adequate healthcare and social protection, or be given the chance to make her own life-decisions.
But on the positive side, we also know that investing in women is the highest-return venture. It’s not just about improving things for them, it is as vitally about letting women improve things for themselves, their families, their communities and the world at large. Even a small investment in women has great economic, political and social reverberations.
III. Women and Change: The Global Context
Women as agents of change is an idea that seems self-evident in the Commonwealth. The two most influential women personalities of the twentieth century - Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher -- were both Commonwealth leaders. Margaret Thatcher changed Britain. Indira Gandhi changed India.
Indira Gandhi was described as the only man in her cabinet, much as Margaret Thatcher was in Britain – the assumption being that it is only men who shape our destinies and alter the course of events. There are other vivid examples of women who overturned such conventional wisdom. Rosa Parks’s refusal to give up her seat in a bus to a white man triggered the civil rights movement in America, leading to the end of racial segregation. During Nelson Mandela’s long imprisonment, Winnie Mandela, Albertina Sisulu and the Black Sash Movement, led by Jean Sinclair and Sheena Duncan, along with others, kept resistance to apartheid alive within South Africa. And there is Aung Saan Syu Kyi in Myanmar whose sacrifices have become the focus of the democratic cause in her country.
Although the women’s movement has already transformed the way in which we look at society in each of our countries, the search for equality is far from finished. History, culture and economics still remain weighted against women. In my own country, most worrying of all is the declining sex ratio of females to males. The age-old preference for sons, coupled with the development of sex-selection technologies, has given an alarming demographic twist to gender bias. That this is happening in regions of substantial economic prosperity within the country is even more disturbing. I should add here, however, that in the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, young women from these very regions won the most number of medals. In a poignant interview, one of them recalled that her parents had wished her to be a boy -- but reconciled themselves after she developed her sporting prowess.
Among all the challenges facing humankind in the 21st century, few are more pressing than climate change and global warming. Unfortunately, as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has pointed out, most of the climate debate has so far been gender-blind.
Yet women have played a special role in raising environmental consciousness. Some may remember only Julia Roberts in the Oscar-winning role of Erin Brockovich. But there have been others in an earlier era who blazed a whole new trail. Rachel Carson’s book ―The Silent Spring‖ published in 1962 was a watershed and led to the banning of DDT. Indira Gandhi herself, at the UN Stockholm Conference on the Environment in 1972, powerfully expressed the link between poverty and environmental degradation, an issue which continues to shape the current debate.
The Chipko movement in the Himalayas in the 1970s, in which village women hugged the trees to protect them from being felled, gave a new meaning and momentum to environmental activism in India. In other parts of the world too, women have taken an inspiring lead in protecting the environment, such as Wangari Maathai in Kenya, Rigoberta Menchu in Guatemala and Marina Silva in Brazil, to name just a few.
I sometimes wonder whether women’s greater empathy with nature and concern for their children’s future might not help the world to find a new, more sustainable, less consumerist path of development.
In 1989, the Commonwealth became the first major international organization to publish a landmark scientific study on the devastating effects of climate change. Commonwealth Heads of Government also agreed on a Climate Change Action Plan in 2007, where, among other things, they called upon the support of women to ensure effective action.
How can such support be extended if women’s voices and concerns hardly figure in the global climate negotiations, or in national and local climate management plans? Perhaps it is time for a fresh Commonwealth initiative to help the world bridge this gap. Such an initiative could suggest ways to bring women’s participation and perspectives more squarely into the global negotiations. We need climate justice not only between countries, but also between genders.
Enhancing the role of women in protecting the environment is necessary. But what about protecting women themselves? Economic growth is leading to mass migration to cities. Disturbingly, this is being accompanied by growing violence against women. If urbanization is the world’s future, we must design urban environments and services in ways that will give women greater security, and educate and involve citizens in this cause. A Commonwealth initiative bringing together our great cities to collaborate on this issue would be timely.
So these are two areas – climate change and urbanisation – where I hope that the Commonwealth can do more for women.
At the same time, I do recognize and appreciate the gender work it is already doing, such as building women entrepreneurs and leaders, and drafting laws which meet women’s needs.
IV. Women and Change: The Indian Scene
Now this evening you will appreciate that my own experience equips me better to focus on the importance of women's issues in India, which is what I now turn to. In order to understand where Indian women are today, let me first tell you where they once were.
In the late 19th century, during the Raj, a section of educated Indian women looked to Queen Victoria for relief from oppressive customs, hoping that as a woman she would intervene on their behalf. Alas, Her Majesty showed them no gender solidarity!
Women in Europe and America too, had to struggle to be educated. In India, however, the opposition to female education was far more intense, grounded as it was in millennia of patriarchy -- even though Indian culture has very prominent female deities, including a Goddess for Learning. In the west, the argument was that women did not need to be educated. In India, the argument was that women should not be educated, that education would ruin women’s character and their traditional submissiveness and subvert the very basis of Indian culture. Dr. Anandibai Joshee, who later became India’s first woman doctor, described her experience of going to school in the relatively progressive city of Bombay in the late 1870s as follows and I quote:
“When people saw me going with books in my hands, they put their heads out of the window just to have a look at me. Some stopped their carriages for the purpose. Others walking in the streets stood laughing, crying out derisive remarks so that I could hear them…. Some of them made fun and were convulsed with laughter. Others, sitting respectably in their verandahs…did not feel ashamed to throw pebbles at me. The shopkeepers and vendors spat at the sight of me, and made gestures too indecent to describe.”
Unquote.
As if the gauntlet of public hostility on the street was not enough, women had also to endure hostility within the family. In 1889 Kashibai Kanitkar, the first major woman writer in the Marathi language, described the stigma attached to women’s literacy as follows and I quote:
“If a woman picks up a paper, our elders feel offended, as though she has done something very shameful. If she receives a letter from her relatives, all the family feels dishonoured. If a woman’s name appears in a newspaper, if her essay is published, if she stammers out a few words at a women’s gathering, she is certain to be slapped with a gigantic charge of having tarnished the family’s honour!”
Unquote.
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the emergence of a number of outstanding social reformers. But it was Mahatma Gandhi who brought about the first real and nation-wide wave of emancipation through his mass mobilization of women into the freedom movement. Unusually for his time, he believed that India’s economic and moral salvation lay in women’s hands. He condemned the traditions of child marriage, female seclusion, dowry, enforced widowhood, and the lack of education that had shackled Indian women for so long. He urged women to fight injustice and inequality and become masters of their own destiny. Women came out in their millions to participate in the civil disobedience movement, profoundly changing their outlook. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation, can perhaps also be called the Mother of Indian feminism.
Our Constitution that came into force in 1950 gave women a new charter for emancipation and empowerment. Women were given the right to vote in the very first national elections in 1952. Actually, the Congress Party had promised universal female franchise way back in 1928 when many developed democracies were still debating the idea.
Like elsewhere in the world, and especially in India, it has not been easy to carve a direct solidarity among women. Their concerns are divided by class, by community, by caste, by culture. But through the 1970s and 80s, the women’s movement in India flowered, banding together on issues like dowry and violence, household labour, discriminatory customs, property rights and wages. These campaigns resulted in the enactment of radical new laws.
A visitor to contemporary India will be impressed by the prominence of women in all aspects of life. India’s President is a woman, as are the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House of Parliament. The Chief Minister of India’s most populous state is a woman from a section of society subjected to discrimination for centuries. Women are Presidents of four of our major political parties. Women are prominent in the judiciary, the higher civil service, the professions, academia, the corporate world, the media and every branch of civil society. At the time of Independence, women accounted for less than 10 per cent of enrolment in higher education—they will soon be on par with men.
And it is not by government action alone that this silent revolution is taking place. Today, women in India are becoming agents of change through their own initiative, their energy and enterprise. Through individual and collective action, they are transforming their own situations and indeed transforming the broader social context itself.
Let me give you some examples of where and how women—ordinary poor women—are beginning to make a difference with far-reaching implications for our country as a whole.
Self-Help Groups
The first is the growth of women’s Self-Help Groups which are changing rural India. Groups of women pool their savings on a regular basis and secure loans for a variety of activities that help them increase their incomes. There are now about five million such groups, averaging 10-15 members each. Last year, they secured bank loans worth more than two billion pounds.
This expanding network has had enormous impact. By giving poor women access to credit (and I might add, with a repayment record far superior to that of well-heeled borrowers!), these groups are helping to blunt the harsh edges of poverty and destitution. But women are doing more than getting loans. They are actually taking on a variety of functions on behalf of government departments. They are, for instance, buying rice and maize from farmers for sale through fair price shops. They are distributing old age pensions and scholarships. They are managing primary health centres. And in this pub-loving country, it may surprise you to know how successful they have been in forcing the closure of village liquor shops to combat male alcoholism, domestic violence and the drain on household finances.
But there is something even more fundamentally revolutionary about this movement. It cuts across caste divides. It gives women a new voice, a new self-confidence, a new assertiveness. Attending a meeting of these women is an uplifting experience. When once they dared not open their mouths even within the family, let alone voice their concerns before outsiders, they are now vociferous in discussing personal and family problems as well as a whole range of community issues.
Women’s Reservation
The second arena where women have emerged as catalysts of change is politics, especially at the local level. In 1993, India amended its Constitution to provide 33 per cent reservation or quota for women in rural and urban local bodies throughout the country. There was cynicism, resentment and even anger – from powerful men, predictably -- when the idea was first mooted. No longer. Today, 1.2 million elected women representatives, including women from the most deprived and disadvantaged communities, have taken their place alongside men in the councils of rural self-government. Long-established power equations are now changing.
But I am less than happy to admit that at the national level we have not yet been successful. Women’s representation in Parliament has hovered between 9 and 11 per cent, a figure that is considerably lower than in many other democracies. Legislation for a 33% quota in Parliament and state assemblies has been passed by the Upper House. We shall persevere in our efforts to get it approved by the Lower House as well.
Civic Activism
The third area where women are leaving their distinctive imprint as harbingers of change is social activism. Over the last few years the language of rights has entered the mainstream of political discourse. Thus we now have a right to information, a right to work, a right to education and soon, a right to food security. What is remarkable about the rights debate and how it has progressed is the leading role women have played as its champions and advocates. Thanks to their passion and commitment, governance has become more open and accountable and public policies more caring of the poor.
Environmental activism too is something in which women are prominent. This is not surprising because, in essence, the issue of environment in India is an issue of livelihoods, of public health, of access to forests, of water security. What is particularly noteworthy about this form of environmental activism is that it is spontaneous in nature and is not driven by any formal organization. A spark is lit and a movement begins.
Enterprise
The fourth arena of impact is enterprise. The most visible may be women who lead some major Indian corporations, businesses and NGOs. But, perhaps even more significant are the unsung majority -- who make up over 90 per cent of all working women in what we call the informal or unorganized sector. For years, they enjoyed no pension, health insurance or maternity benefits, something that our government has begun to address.
Collective action by women has taken different forms. Thus, India, once the world’s largest importer of milkfood, is now its largest milk producer. This White Revolution, as we call it, has proceeded in parallel with the Green Revolution. And it is millions of women in thousands of villages who have been the backbone of these milk cooperatives. There are many other instances such as Lijjat, producer of those poppadums so loved by British diners in Indian restaurants here. Founded by seven Gujarati housewives with a capital of about 7 pounds, it now has 42,000 owner-producers with a turnover approaching 70 million pounds.
The largest collective of women in India's informal sector is SEWA—the Self-Employed Women’s Association, also founded by a woman. Its achievements within the country to provide a social security net for its members and add value to household enterprise have been widely recognised. But one of its most recent endeavours is particularly noteworthy—a programme in war-torn Afghanistan to train women, especially war widows, to acquire skills, set up food processing enterprises and initiate ecological regeneration. A similar programme is the Hand-in-Hand project in two provinces in Afghanistan based on the experience of our self-help-groups. In a true spirit of sisterhood, they are contributing to women’s empowerment in that country.
Such initiatives demonstrate the role women’s enterprise can play in regions ravaged by violence and conflict. Within India as well, these groups have taken the lead in mediating, peace-building and reconciliation in areas of strife.
Technology
Finally, technology is proving to be a powerful tool for reducing gender inequalities. In the sunrise IT sector women already comprise close to one third—a million strong--of its workforce. There is a proliferation of knowledge-based enterprises, run by women in rural areas, such as village information centres and IT kiosks for accessing government services. Their ripple effect is growing. This is beginning to impact age-old prejudices. Independent livelihoods are enabling women to stand on their own feet and resist pressure for early marriage. They are also being viewed as less of a liability by their parents.
V. Concluding Remarks
Ladies and Gentlemen, few things give me greater optimism about my country’s future than the amazing resilience of our women, their fortitude and courage, their capacity to overcome every obstacle, their readiness to grasp every opportunity.
India is at the cusp of a ―demographic dividend‖ due to its young and increasingly educated and skilled population. Imagine, what might happen when this demographic dividend is multiplied by a ―gender dividend‖. It will, I believe, yield enormous economic gain and lead to profound social transformation.
Mahatma Gandhi saw women as the future leaders of human evolution, bringing compassion and morality into public life. As always, what he said is memorable, and I quote:
“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man’s injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then indeed is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she is not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater courage? Without woman, man could not be.”
Unquote.
It could be argued that the progressive victories of the women’s movement, their achievement of the right to vote and other rights, were the 20th century’s seminal contribution to human advancement. It has been a long journey. I fervently hope that the 21st century will take this to its logical conclusion. May this be, not the century of any particular country, but the century when women finally come into their own, the century when representative democracy is re-imagined to give women their due share, the century when the vocabulary of politics and culture is re-engineered fully to include that other half of mankind.
Thank you.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
JAPA YOGA BY SWAMI AVDHUTANANDA
JAPA YOGA
One may wonder why a student of Vedaanta listening to and reflecting upon discourses on the Upanishad-s and the Geetaa should care to take up any method of saadhanaa (spiritual practice) other than only meditation. It is natural for seekers in their blind enthusiasm to come to question the importance of japa for a vedaantik seeker. This doubt comes out of confusion in the understanding of the japa yoga.
Meditation is a spontaneous process that can only occur when the mind has been brought to a certain level of harmony and single-pointedness. The prime concern of seekers should be to confront and exhaust inner conflicts and suppressed desires. Japa is a useful method of slowly drawing out the negative aspects of the subconscious part of the mind, with much less likelihood of possible nasty or unpleasant side effects. It relaxes the mind, which in turn can lead to the natural occurrence of meditation.
Concentration is impossible for most people for there are too many inner and outer disturbances. During meditative practice one is either overwhelmed by a continuous stream of inner mental chatter, worries etc. or on the other hand, one is unable to break away from external noises and other disturbances. Both of these distractions prevent meditation. The inability to shut off outer noises is really a by-product of inner turmoil; if there is inner peace then one can automatically shut off outer influences.
Another problem in meditative practices is forced concentration. Many people realize the importance of concentration and try to force it, which causes tension and is not real concentration. Real concentration arises naturally through a relaxed mind. The solution is, not to concentrate, but instead remain aware. In concentration one withdraws the attention from all sides to one point. In awareness, one pays attention not only to that one point, but to all the thoughts that arise. One does not wrestle with the mind, but slowly tames it by being a witness to all activity. Japa is a wonderful system of maintaining individual awareness.
It is important that one should not suppress thoughts but allow it to arise. One should split one’s awareness. That is, one should be simultaneously be attentive to all the continuous thoughts that arise, as well as the mantra and the rotation of the maalaa. Eventually the thought process will tend to exhaust itself. The mind will become very relaxed not by suppression, but by exhaustion of the surface thoughts and gradual weaning away of one’s tendency to lapse into a reverie of thoughts. This natural thought-free state combined with awareness is the prelude to meditation.
Japa yoga is for silencing the ever chattering mind. Japa checks the force of the thought-current moving towards objects and forces the mind towards the attainment of eternal bliss. Japa is a training by which the ever-restless mind is compelled to behave in some order and rhythm and thereby bring out, a single melody of repeated mantra-chanting. By this practice, the mind becomes extremely single-pointed. During japa all the divine qualities steadily flow into the mind from the Lord. Japa changes the mental substance from passion to purity, from rajas to sattva. In fact, if japa is properly done, it can more effectively bring about a sustained single-pointedness than all the hasty methods of meditation. A mind seasoned by japa is like tinned food which gets ready for consumption after a few seconds ‘warming’ up on fire. A short period of meditation can take a japa-prepared mind to unimaginable heights in a very short time. One attains Self realization very quickly (javena). ‘ja’ stands for javena, which means quickly and ‘pa’ stands for paramaatmaa, the Supreme Self. Japa yoga is the one infallible saadhanaa which will bring about that ethereal joy of God realization to a sincere saadhaka (aspirant). Those who have purified their minds and whose vaasanaa-s (tendencies which manifests in desires) have been annihilated through japa, become mature to understand the Upanishadik teachings from a Master, which will confer the infinite bliss of Pure Awareness. A person with pure mind attains realization through self-enquiry.
To get a human birth is very rare; to have bhakti is much more rare; rarer indeed is initiation received to do japa from a real Guru. To do japa with deep devotion with the mantra got from a Sadguru is japa yoga.
Japa is a training for the mind in fixing itself to a single line of thinking. We cannot pronounce a word without a thought-form rising up immediately in us; nor can we have a thought-form without its corresponding name. Can we repeat the word 'pen' without its form? In this close connection between the name and the form lies the underlying principle in the technique of japa.
The less one thinks of a thing, the less one gets attached to it. The opposite is also equally true: the more one thinks of a thing the more one gets attached to it.
One becomes aware of the supreme reality through meditation alone. Meditation becomes easy through japa. One may not progress much in meditation, if one lacks in concentration power and a perfect knowledge of how to fix one's mind, at will, at a single point, for some length of time. Meditation is keeping the mind tied down to one line of thought, to the complete exclusion of all other dissimilar thoughts. To succeed in this, we must learn to stop at will all other dissimilar thoughts. This mental capacity is gained through japa when practised regularly along with leading a disciplined life.
Japa is a very effective mental discipline for spiritual progress. Samartha Ramdas Swami perfected himself through japa of Shri Rama-mantra. Shri Krshna Himself says in the Geeta: “I am among the yoga-s, japa yoga”.
For japa yoga there are no strict rules. There are no do’s and don’ts whatsoever. Complete surrender with love and bhakti bhaava (attitude of devotion) alone is the only rule for real aspirants in japa yoga. One has to take initiation of a mantra in the presence of a Guru.
Mantra Yoga: Mantra yoga is an exact science. “mananaat traayatay iti mantrah”—by the manana (constant reflection) of which one is protected or is released from the round of births and deaths, is mantra”. A mantra is so called because it is achieved by the mental process. The root “man” in the word mantra comes from the first syllable of that word, meaning ‘to think’ and “tra” from “trai” meaning ‘to protect’ or ‘free’ from the bondage of samsaara or the phenomenal world. By the combination of “man” and “tra” comes mantra.
It is a scientifically proven fact that sounds produce shapes. Particular notes give rise to particular forms. If we want to generate a particular form, we must produce a definite note in a particular pitch. A mantra is divine power manifesting in a sound form. Rhythmical vibrations of sound give rise to forms. Chanting of the mantra gives rise to the formation of the particular figure of the deity. Chanting of “Aum Namah Shivaaya” generates the form of Lord Shiva. By constant repetition of the mantra, the saadhaka imbibes the virtues and powers of the deity that presides over the mantra. The aspirant should try his level best to realize his unity with the mantra of the divinity and to the extent he does so, the mantra-shakti (mantra-power) supplements his saadhana-shakti.
The dormant mantra is awakened through the saadhana-shakti of the aspirant. The mantra of the deity is that letter or combination of letters, which reveals the deity to the consciousness of the aspirant who has evoked it by the saadhana-shakti.
A ‘mantra’ is a word-symbol or symbols representing and expressing, as close as possible, the particular view of God and the universe they stand for. Mantra-s are also in the form of praise and appeal to the deities, craving for help and mercy. One should not beg of God any worldly objects while doing japa. Some mantra-s control and command the evil spirits.
There is nothing secret about these mantra-s. All of them are in the scriptures, but when the mantra is given to the disciple by an illumined teacher, it becomes a living seed. The teacher by his / her spiritual power gives life to the word and at the same time awakens the spiritual power latent in the disciple. That is the secret of the teacher’s initiation. Mantra is an aid to meditation. Keep the Guru-mantra a secret. Never disclose it to anyone. If you have no personal mantra, use the universal mantra Aum.
Spiritual life needs harmony in all parts of our being. The whole being must be in perfect ease and in tune with the divine. Then only the spiritual Truth can be realized. Mantra produces harmony. When chanted constantly it bestows on the saadhaka illumination, freedom, supreme peace, eternal bliss and immortality.
Have perfect unshakeable faith in the efficiency of a mantra. A mantra is filled with countless divine potency. It should be chanted constantly. One will be endowed with capacity, inner spiritual strength and will-power. The mantra-chaitanya will be awakened by constant chanting. There is a mysterious power in the mantra and this mantra-shakti brings samaadhi which gives the devotee the vision of the divine. One will get illumination.
There are certain signs that indicate that the mantra is really benefitting the saadhaka. The saadhaka who practices mantra-yoga will feel the presence of the Lord at all times. He will feel the divine ecstasy and holy thrill in the heart. He will possess all divine qualities. He will have a pure mind. He will feel horripilation. He will shed tears of prema. He will have holy communion with the Lord.
Constant chanting of the name of the Lord or the mantra calms the turbulent mind and helps to expel complexes, neurosis, phobia etc. Japa does this slowly without disrupting one’s life. It removes troubles, burns all sins, removes delusion, annihilates attachment, induces vairaagya, roots out all desires, destroys vaasanaa-s, purifies the mind, develops pure unconditional love, destroys the cycle of birth and death, makes one fearless, gives supreme peace, brings God-consciousness or pure awareness, gives moksha and bestows eternal bliss.
Japa charges the mind with positive sound vibrations and this is a wonderful therapy for even the most disturbed mind. It brings about single-pointedness of mind, without resorting to forced concentration. Finally it leads to meditation.
There are three types of mantra-s: those that invoke the low powers of nature (taamasik); those that excite and manifest might and power (raajasik) and lastly, those that lead to spiritual experience (saatvik).
All those mantra-s again fall under two classifications: (a) those that need to be only chanted and there is no need for one to know their meaning; (b) those mantra-s that are of the nature of an invocation and the devotee must necessarily know the meaning of those mantra-s without which he will not be able to bring his mind to play upon the divine theme constantly.
The Vedik mantra-s are, both, in poetry and in prose; the metrical mantra-s are called the “rk” and the prose mantra-s are called the “yajuh”. Of all the mantra-s the most powerful and the significant one is the single syllable incantation called the pranava. This is Aum.
There is a verse in the Veda-s: “prajaapatir vai idam agra aaseet” (In the beginning was prajaapati, the Brahman); “tasya vaak dvitiya aaseet” (With whom was the Word); “vaag vai paramam Brahma” (And the Word was verily the supreme Brahman)*. (*The thought belongs to Sanaatana Dharma and in the Gospel according to John, ch. 1, v.1, we have it repeated: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”.)
Mantra-Dikshaa: Initiation into the divine name or mantra-dikshaa is one of the holiest and most significant of the sacred rituals in the spiritual life. To receive the Guru-mantra from a realized saint and Sadguru is the rarest of good fortune and the most precious of the divine blessings that may be bestowed upon the saadhaka. The full glory of this mantra-dikshaa, especially when it is given by a realized Master can be hardly be imagined even fractionally by the initiated who has not yet a proper idea of what the mantra and mantra-dikshaa really imply.
A tremendous transformation begins with initiation and like a seed that is sown in the earth ultimately culminates in the grand fruit of realization or atma-jnaana. Saadhaka must make continuous effort in the form of spiritual saadhanaa if the dikshaa has to become blissfully fruitful as Self-realization. He will doubtless receive the help, guidance and grace of the Guru according to his devotion and firm shraddhaa in him.
The japa of a mantra can bring the aspirant realization of the highest even though he has no knowledge of the meaning of the mantra. Only it will take a little more time. If the mantra is chanted with concentration on its meaning the aspirant will attain God-consciousness quickly.
The chanting of the mantra removes the dirt of the mind such as lust, anger, greed etc. Even a little chanting of a mantra with shraddhaa, bhaava and concentration on its meaning with single-pointed mind, destroys all impurities of the mind. Even mechanical chanting of japa without any bhaava has a great purifying effect on the mind. The feeling will come later on when the process of mental purification continues. Do not beg of God any worldly objects while doing japa. Feel that the heart is being purified and the mind is becoming steady by the power of the mantra with the grace of God. The aspirant should chant the name of God or any other mantra regularly every day.
Aspirant has to determine the amount of the japa that has to be completed in a day and should practice the same, with joy and devotion. Try to practise japa regularly in accordance with an anushthaana. The most effective time is early dawn (Brahmamuhurta) and dusk, when sattva is predominant. During these two sandhi periods both the nostrils are free-flowing, which is essential to keep the mind alert and single-pointed. The mind acquires single-pointedness after the practice of praanaayaama. Therefore japa and meditation done after praanaayaama will be more effective. However, japa can be done whenever there is leisure time and before going to bed. Regularity is essential.
Have a special room for prayers or a quiet place in the house. Do not change the place now and then. Fix an idol or picture of the ishta devataa (favourite deity). Spread an aasana (something thick to sit on) in front of your ishta devataa. This helps to conserve body-electricity. The aasana should be used for japa or meditation only and not for any other purpose and it should not be shared with anyone else.
The sitting posture should be comfortable, which helps to make the mind also steady. It also controls rajas and aids in concentration. There are numerous sitting postures prescribed in yoga that are good for japa and meditation. The best among those is siddhaasana (for men) and siddha yoni aasana (for women). Applying moolabandha in this aasana helps concentration. One can sit in any posture that is comfortable and can be sustained for a reasonable period of time without aches and pains and any other discomforts. Face the north or the east. This exercises subtle influence and enhances the efficacy of japa.
Have a maalaa (rosary), either of Rudraaksha or Tulasi, of 108 beads. Search for the off-bead: this is called the meru or sumeru (junction or summit). It acts as a reference point to know the number of maalaa rotations. It also helps in returning the awareness in case the mind has wandered off and the practice has become mechanical. Start the japa with the next bead. Do not allow the maalaa to hang below the navel. Hold the maalaa in the right hand and keep it near the heart or the nose. Support the maalaa by a loop formed by joining the tip of the thumb with the ring finger. The middle finger should be used to rotate the maalaa. The index finger and small finger should not be utilized but held clear of the maalaa. The maalaa must not be visible to us or others during japa. It can be kept in a specially made bag called ‘gaumukhi’ with an aperture to keep the index finger out of the bag.
The index finger is considered to be an ‘outcast’ because of its language. This finger is generally used in pointing out the “other”, in accusing “another”, in threatening etc. Essentially the index finger is used to express duality and the otherness of things and beings! Therefore it is prohibited. Use only the middle finger of the right hand for rolling the beads. The Sanskrit word japa means ‘to roll’ or ‘to rotate’.
Before one begins japa with the maalaa, one should start likhita japa (written japa). For beginners likhita japa is highly recommended to make the mind single pointed. Likhita japa is done with the idol or the picture of the deity whose mantra has been taken for japa saadhanaa kept in front. A special notebook is kept for the purpose. While writing the japa mantra one should simultaneously keep chanting it. The writing should be as small and as neat and beautiful as possible. It should be legible as well. In likhita japa, three organs are engaged—the eyes are looking at the mantra, the mouth is chanting the mantra and the hand is writing the mantra. This will increase the concentration level. After attaining some level of single pointedness of the mind one can switch over to chanting the japa mantra with the help of the maalaa.
Japa with maalaa is done at three levels. In the beginning it is done in vaikhari vaani (with audible sound). Pronounce each letter of the mantra correctly and distinctly. Do not repeat it too fast or too slow. Increase the speed only when the mind wanders. Loud japa shuts out all worldly sounds. Then it progresses to upaamshu or madhyamaa vaani (where there is lip movement but the sound is not distinctly audible, only a whisper or a humming sound). In the third stage it is maanasik (the chanting is in the mind). Mental chanting or maanasik japa is the most powerful of the three. According to Sandilya Upanishad upaamshu japa gives a reward a thousand times more than the vaikhari; the maanasik japa gives a reward a crore (10 million) times more than the vaikhari japa.
Synchronize the japa with respiration and meditate on the form of the deity. Think of the meaning of the mantra while repeating it.
Carry on the current of japa mentally even at other times, in whatever works one may be engaged. Even if one is busy with house-hold work or other activities, where one is not required to speak, one can continuously chant the mantra in the mind, simultaneously while engaged in activities. One should thus put a stop to the thought-producing machinery called the mind. Funeral pyre burns the dead body and lasts for only a few hours, but worries (thoughts) burn us within seemingly endlessly. So, an intelligent seeker should burn the worries as quickly as possible with the power of mantra japa.
When the mind becomes single-pointed and one becomes deeply absorbed in the mantra, one may suddenly be confronted by a vision or thought that arises almost unexpectedly. This represents one of the deeper problems and it needs to be removed. Mere awareness will do this. It is at this stage, where one goes below surface thoughts and one starts to clean out the mind.
According to the sages, the vaasanaa-s will be destroyed only through vichaara. Japa yoga is a great help for aatma vichaara.
To one who has gained a sufficient poise in this subjective art of single-pointedness gained through the practice of contemplation, to him, meditation is natural, for, meditation itself is but a conscious attempt to “maintain” the mind in one channel of thoughts of the same variety.
Japa is, thus, a very healthy and effective aid to meditation, if properly practised and regularly pursued. Regularity and sincerity are the secrets of success in spirituality. Guard the mind against all excesses and make it immune to selfishness and passion. Watch how imperceptibly the mind ties itself down with things and beings, happenings and circumstances by its own unintelligent attachments. Even when all these warnings are faithfully obeyed, there is still a subtle danger of the japa saadhanaa being muddled with our chronic thirst for fruits. Profit motive is the strongest urge in man in all his strenuous activities. Japa, polluted by sakaama (profit motive), cannot end in the spiritual effulgence of the one doing it.
Consider japa saadhanaa as a yajna. The potential strength of blessing that lies dormant in japa will thereby be invoked and to one who is under its grace, meditation is home-coming. The effectiveness of japa, to a large extent, depends upon the spirit of surrender with which the seeker is practising it.
Ajapa Japa: The suffix ‘a’ in front of japa implies that the process of japa becomes spontaneous. That is, japa is transformed into ajapa when the mantra repeats itself without effort; the mantra has been planted so deeply through japa that one’s whole being pulsates with that mantra. Japa requires conscious effort, whereas ajapa is effortless. It is said that japa comes from the mouth whereas ajapa comes from the heart. Japa is the preliminary practice and ajapa is the perfection of japa.
When one advances in practice, every pore in the skin, every hair on the body, will repeat the mantra effortlessly. The whole system will be charged with the powerful vibrations of the mantra. One will ever be in the love of the Lord. One may experience muscular twitching and may shed profuse tears of joy. One may be in exalted divine mood. One may get inspiration, revelation, ecstasy, insight, intuition and bliss. It helps to release the incredible dormant faculties and power that is the inheritance of us all. One may compose inspiring poems. One may have various siddhi-s, divine aishvarya and treasures of heaven.
Once a certain level of single-pointedness is attained one should progress towards witnessing the silence between two chanting—at the end of one and before the beginning of the next—where there are no thought eruptions. As soon as a thought appears the next chanting is done to cut the thought. This is the real sandhyaa (conjunction, twilight period) vandana. With practice one should increase the period of sandhyaa or the silence. Be absorbed more and more in this sandhyaa. Slowly one will be able to attain the no-mind state. This is the acme of japa yoga.
Falling asleep or having a wandering mind during japa and a bad temper soon after japa saadhanaa, are the problems associated with japa yoga. The seeker should patiently fight these tendencies and win them over. Sleep comes because a mind in japa is a mind at rest. To shake of sleep one can either chant in vaikhari vaani or stand up and do the japa. When the left nostril is free-flowing and the right one is blocked or semi-blocked then one will most likely fall asleep and if the right nostril is free-flowing and the left is blocked or semi-blocked one will not fall asleep but one’s mind will wander. Practice paadadhiraasana. It will keep both the nostrils free-flowing.
Bad temper comes because of two reasons: suppression of tendencies and fatigue. The former starts with the saadhak's annoyance at his wandering mind during japa. The later is caused by exhaustion, because to hold the mind in balance at a given line of thought is a great strain to the beginner and hence his mind gets fatigued.
A person practising japa should consume only very saatvik food, which will cause the growth of sattva guna in him. Moderate, pure and pleasing food is considered as very saatvik. The yogi who practices moderation in food and has conquered the praana, his mind becomes extremely pure through mantra japa and merges in the light of awareness.
In the ancient times, the ladies used to chant Gaayatri as freely as men. So says Manu (Manusmrti, II—147 and 148). In the ancient times all ladies had their upanayanam performed. They used to learn the Veda-s, teach the Veda-s to others and chant the Gaayatri mantra. Here the term 'ladies' used cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be conceived as meaning only the ladies of the braahmana or the kshatriya families, but all ladies.
In fact, the spiritual unfoldment through mantra-upaasanaa is found more readily in ladies than in men. Thus the shaastra injunctions take us to the conclusion that women too can, rather should, chant the Gaayatri mantra regularly in their morning and evening worship. In fact, there are repeated declarations in our shaastra-s that if the effects of the saadhanaa performed by men are their own, the spiritual benefits acquired by the womenfolk are shared by their husbands, children, their families and the entire society.
In fact, it is evident now that japa properly undertaken, is not only a preparation for meditative flights, but it can in itself serve as a vehicle which can lift us, from the pains and ugliness of our imperfections, to the very throne of the infinite, the perfect.
May you come to realize the joy and bliss of this supreme saadhanaa—the japa yoga.
One may wonder why a student of Vedaanta listening to and reflecting upon discourses on the Upanishad-s and the Geetaa should care to take up any method of saadhanaa (spiritual practice) other than only meditation. It is natural for seekers in their blind enthusiasm to come to question the importance of japa for a vedaantik seeker. This doubt comes out of confusion in the understanding of the japa yoga.
Meditation is a spontaneous process that can only occur when the mind has been brought to a certain level of harmony and single-pointedness. The prime concern of seekers should be to confront and exhaust inner conflicts and suppressed desires. Japa is a useful method of slowly drawing out the negative aspects of the subconscious part of the mind, with much less likelihood of possible nasty or unpleasant side effects. It relaxes the mind, which in turn can lead to the natural occurrence of meditation.
Concentration is impossible for most people for there are too many inner and outer disturbances. During meditative practice one is either overwhelmed by a continuous stream of inner mental chatter, worries etc. or on the other hand, one is unable to break away from external noises and other disturbances. Both of these distractions prevent meditation. The inability to shut off outer noises is really a by-product of inner turmoil; if there is inner peace then one can automatically shut off outer influences.
Another problem in meditative practices is forced concentration. Many people realize the importance of concentration and try to force it, which causes tension and is not real concentration. Real concentration arises naturally through a relaxed mind. The solution is, not to concentrate, but instead remain aware. In concentration one withdraws the attention from all sides to one point. In awareness, one pays attention not only to that one point, but to all the thoughts that arise. One does not wrestle with the mind, but slowly tames it by being a witness to all activity. Japa is a wonderful system of maintaining individual awareness.
It is important that one should not suppress thoughts but allow it to arise. One should split one’s awareness. That is, one should be simultaneously be attentive to all the continuous thoughts that arise, as well as the mantra and the rotation of the maalaa. Eventually the thought process will tend to exhaust itself. The mind will become very relaxed not by suppression, but by exhaustion of the surface thoughts and gradual weaning away of one’s tendency to lapse into a reverie of thoughts. This natural thought-free state combined with awareness is the prelude to meditation.
Japa yoga is for silencing the ever chattering mind. Japa checks the force of the thought-current moving towards objects and forces the mind towards the attainment of eternal bliss. Japa is a training by which the ever-restless mind is compelled to behave in some order and rhythm and thereby bring out, a single melody of repeated mantra-chanting. By this practice, the mind becomes extremely single-pointed. During japa all the divine qualities steadily flow into the mind from the Lord. Japa changes the mental substance from passion to purity, from rajas to sattva. In fact, if japa is properly done, it can more effectively bring about a sustained single-pointedness than all the hasty methods of meditation. A mind seasoned by japa is like tinned food which gets ready for consumption after a few seconds ‘warming’ up on fire. A short period of meditation can take a japa-prepared mind to unimaginable heights in a very short time. One attains Self realization very quickly (javena). ‘ja’ stands for javena, which means quickly and ‘pa’ stands for paramaatmaa, the Supreme Self. Japa yoga is the one infallible saadhanaa which will bring about that ethereal joy of God realization to a sincere saadhaka (aspirant). Those who have purified their minds and whose vaasanaa-s (tendencies which manifests in desires) have been annihilated through japa, become mature to understand the Upanishadik teachings from a Master, which will confer the infinite bliss of Pure Awareness. A person with pure mind attains realization through self-enquiry.
To get a human birth is very rare; to have bhakti is much more rare; rarer indeed is initiation received to do japa from a real Guru. To do japa with deep devotion with the mantra got from a Sadguru is japa yoga.
Japa is a training for the mind in fixing itself to a single line of thinking. We cannot pronounce a word without a thought-form rising up immediately in us; nor can we have a thought-form without its corresponding name. Can we repeat the word 'pen' without its form? In this close connection between the name and the form lies the underlying principle in the technique of japa.
The less one thinks of a thing, the less one gets attached to it. The opposite is also equally true: the more one thinks of a thing the more one gets attached to it.
One becomes aware of the supreme reality through meditation alone. Meditation becomes easy through japa. One may not progress much in meditation, if one lacks in concentration power and a perfect knowledge of how to fix one's mind, at will, at a single point, for some length of time. Meditation is keeping the mind tied down to one line of thought, to the complete exclusion of all other dissimilar thoughts. To succeed in this, we must learn to stop at will all other dissimilar thoughts. This mental capacity is gained through japa when practised regularly along with leading a disciplined life.
Japa is a very effective mental discipline for spiritual progress. Samartha Ramdas Swami perfected himself through japa of Shri Rama-mantra. Shri Krshna Himself says in the Geeta: “I am among the yoga-s, japa yoga”.
For japa yoga there are no strict rules. There are no do’s and don’ts whatsoever. Complete surrender with love and bhakti bhaava (attitude of devotion) alone is the only rule for real aspirants in japa yoga. One has to take initiation of a mantra in the presence of a Guru.
Mantra Yoga: Mantra yoga is an exact science. “mananaat traayatay iti mantrah”—by the manana (constant reflection) of which one is protected or is released from the round of births and deaths, is mantra”. A mantra is so called because it is achieved by the mental process. The root “man” in the word mantra comes from the first syllable of that word, meaning ‘to think’ and “tra” from “trai” meaning ‘to protect’ or ‘free’ from the bondage of samsaara or the phenomenal world. By the combination of “man” and “tra” comes mantra.
It is a scientifically proven fact that sounds produce shapes. Particular notes give rise to particular forms. If we want to generate a particular form, we must produce a definite note in a particular pitch. A mantra is divine power manifesting in a sound form. Rhythmical vibrations of sound give rise to forms. Chanting of the mantra gives rise to the formation of the particular figure of the deity. Chanting of “Aum Namah Shivaaya” generates the form of Lord Shiva. By constant repetition of the mantra, the saadhaka imbibes the virtues and powers of the deity that presides over the mantra. The aspirant should try his level best to realize his unity with the mantra of the divinity and to the extent he does so, the mantra-shakti (mantra-power) supplements his saadhana-shakti.
The dormant mantra is awakened through the saadhana-shakti of the aspirant. The mantra of the deity is that letter or combination of letters, which reveals the deity to the consciousness of the aspirant who has evoked it by the saadhana-shakti.
A ‘mantra’ is a word-symbol or symbols representing and expressing, as close as possible, the particular view of God and the universe they stand for. Mantra-s are also in the form of praise and appeal to the deities, craving for help and mercy. One should not beg of God any worldly objects while doing japa. Some mantra-s control and command the evil spirits.
There is nothing secret about these mantra-s. All of them are in the scriptures, but when the mantra is given to the disciple by an illumined teacher, it becomes a living seed. The teacher by his / her spiritual power gives life to the word and at the same time awakens the spiritual power latent in the disciple. That is the secret of the teacher’s initiation. Mantra is an aid to meditation. Keep the Guru-mantra a secret. Never disclose it to anyone. If you have no personal mantra, use the universal mantra Aum.
Spiritual life needs harmony in all parts of our being. The whole being must be in perfect ease and in tune with the divine. Then only the spiritual Truth can be realized. Mantra produces harmony. When chanted constantly it bestows on the saadhaka illumination, freedom, supreme peace, eternal bliss and immortality.
Have perfect unshakeable faith in the efficiency of a mantra. A mantra is filled with countless divine potency. It should be chanted constantly. One will be endowed with capacity, inner spiritual strength and will-power. The mantra-chaitanya will be awakened by constant chanting. There is a mysterious power in the mantra and this mantra-shakti brings samaadhi which gives the devotee the vision of the divine. One will get illumination.
There are certain signs that indicate that the mantra is really benefitting the saadhaka. The saadhaka who practices mantra-yoga will feel the presence of the Lord at all times. He will feel the divine ecstasy and holy thrill in the heart. He will possess all divine qualities. He will have a pure mind. He will feel horripilation. He will shed tears of prema. He will have holy communion with the Lord.
Constant chanting of the name of the Lord or the mantra calms the turbulent mind and helps to expel complexes, neurosis, phobia etc. Japa does this slowly without disrupting one’s life. It removes troubles, burns all sins, removes delusion, annihilates attachment, induces vairaagya, roots out all desires, destroys vaasanaa-s, purifies the mind, develops pure unconditional love, destroys the cycle of birth and death, makes one fearless, gives supreme peace, brings God-consciousness or pure awareness, gives moksha and bestows eternal bliss.
Japa charges the mind with positive sound vibrations and this is a wonderful therapy for even the most disturbed mind. It brings about single-pointedness of mind, without resorting to forced concentration. Finally it leads to meditation.
There are three types of mantra-s: those that invoke the low powers of nature (taamasik); those that excite and manifest might and power (raajasik) and lastly, those that lead to spiritual experience (saatvik).
All those mantra-s again fall under two classifications: (a) those that need to be only chanted and there is no need for one to know their meaning; (b) those mantra-s that are of the nature of an invocation and the devotee must necessarily know the meaning of those mantra-s without which he will not be able to bring his mind to play upon the divine theme constantly.
The Vedik mantra-s are, both, in poetry and in prose; the metrical mantra-s are called the “rk” and the prose mantra-s are called the “yajuh”. Of all the mantra-s the most powerful and the significant one is the single syllable incantation called the pranava. This is Aum.
There is a verse in the Veda-s: “prajaapatir vai idam agra aaseet” (In the beginning was prajaapati, the Brahman); “tasya vaak dvitiya aaseet” (With whom was the Word); “vaag vai paramam Brahma” (And the Word was verily the supreme Brahman)*. (*The thought belongs to Sanaatana Dharma and in the Gospel according to John, ch. 1, v.1, we have it repeated: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”.)
Mantra-Dikshaa: Initiation into the divine name or mantra-dikshaa is one of the holiest and most significant of the sacred rituals in the spiritual life. To receive the Guru-mantra from a realized saint and Sadguru is the rarest of good fortune and the most precious of the divine blessings that may be bestowed upon the saadhaka. The full glory of this mantra-dikshaa, especially when it is given by a realized Master can be hardly be imagined even fractionally by the initiated who has not yet a proper idea of what the mantra and mantra-dikshaa really imply.
A tremendous transformation begins with initiation and like a seed that is sown in the earth ultimately culminates in the grand fruit of realization or atma-jnaana. Saadhaka must make continuous effort in the form of spiritual saadhanaa if the dikshaa has to become blissfully fruitful as Self-realization. He will doubtless receive the help, guidance and grace of the Guru according to his devotion and firm shraddhaa in him.
The japa of a mantra can bring the aspirant realization of the highest even though he has no knowledge of the meaning of the mantra. Only it will take a little more time. If the mantra is chanted with concentration on its meaning the aspirant will attain God-consciousness quickly.
The chanting of the mantra removes the dirt of the mind such as lust, anger, greed etc. Even a little chanting of a mantra with shraddhaa, bhaava and concentration on its meaning with single-pointed mind, destroys all impurities of the mind. Even mechanical chanting of japa without any bhaava has a great purifying effect on the mind. The feeling will come later on when the process of mental purification continues. Do not beg of God any worldly objects while doing japa. Feel that the heart is being purified and the mind is becoming steady by the power of the mantra with the grace of God. The aspirant should chant the name of God or any other mantra regularly every day.
Aspirant has to determine the amount of the japa that has to be completed in a day and should practice the same, with joy and devotion. Try to practise japa regularly in accordance with an anushthaana. The most effective time is early dawn (Brahmamuhurta) and dusk, when sattva is predominant. During these two sandhi periods both the nostrils are free-flowing, which is essential to keep the mind alert and single-pointed. The mind acquires single-pointedness after the practice of praanaayaama. Therefore japa and meditation done after praanaayaama will be more effective. However, japa can be done whenever there is leisure time and before going to bed. Regularity is essential.
Have a special room for prayers or a quiet place in the house. Do not change the place now and then. Fix an idol or picture of the ishta devataa (favourite deity). Spread an aasana (something thick to sit on) in front of your ishta devataa. This helps to conserve body-electricity. The aasana should be used for japa or meditation only and not for any other purpose and it should not be shared with anyone else.
The sitting posture should be comfortable, which helps to make the mind also steady. It also controls rajas and aids in concentration. There are numerous sitting postures prescribed in yoga that are good for japa and meditation. The best among those is siddhaasana (for men) and siddha yoni aasana (for women). Applying moolabandha in this aasana helps concentration. One can sit in any posture that is comfortable and can be sustained for a reasonable period of time without aches and pains and any other discomforts. Face the north or the east. This exercises subtle influence and enhances the efficacy of japa.
Have a maalaa (rosary), either of Rudraaksha or Tulasi, of 108 beads. Search for the off-bead: this is called the meru or sumeru (junction or summit). It acts as a reference point to know the number of maalaa rotations. It also helps in returning the awareness in case the mind has wandered off and the practice has become mechanical. Start the japa with the next bead. Do not allow the maalaa to hang below the navel. Hold the maalaa in the right hand and keep it near the heart or the nose. Support the maalaa by a loop formed by joining the tip of the thumb with the ring finger. The middle finger should be used to rotate the maalaa. The index finger and small finger should not be utilized but held clear of the maalaa. The maalaa must not be visible to us or others during japa. It can be kept in a specially made bag called ‘gaumukhi’ with an aperture to keep the index finger out of the bag.
The index finger is considered to be an ‘outcast’ because of its language. This finger is generally used in pointing out the “other”, in accusing “another”, in threatening etc. Essentially the index finger is used to express duality and the otherness of things and beings! Therefore it is prohibited. Use only the middle finger of the right hand for rolling the beads. The Sanskrit word japa means ‘to roll’ or ‘to rotate’.
Before one begins japa with the maalaa, one should start likhita japa (written japa). For beginners likhita japa is highly recommended to make the mind single pointed. Likhita japa is done with the idol or the picture of the deity whose mantra has been taken for japa saadhanaa kept in front. A special notebook is kept for the purpose. While writing the japa mantra one should simultaneously keep chanting it. The writing should be as small and as neat and beautiful as possible. It should be legible as well. In likhita japa, three organs are engaged—the eyes are looking at the mantra, the mouth is chanting the mantra and the hand is writing the mantra. This will increase the concentration level. After attaining some level of single pointedness of the mind one can switch over to chanting the japa mantra with the help of the maalaa.
Japa with maalaa is done at three levels. In the beginning it is done in vaikhari vaani (with audible sound). Pronounce each letter of the mantra correctly and distinctly. Do not repeat it too fast or too slow. Increase the speed only when the mind wanders. Loud japa shuts out all worldly sounds. Then it progresses to upaamshu or madhyamaa vaani (where there is lip movement but the sound is not distinctly audible, only a whisper or a humming sound). In the third stage it is maanasik (the chanting is in the mind). Mental chanting or maanasik japa is the most powerful of the three. According to Sandilya Upanishad upaamshu japa gives a reward a thousand times more than the vaikhari; the maanasik japa gives a reward a crore (10 million) times more than the vaikhari japa.
Synchronize the japa with respiration and meditate on the form of the deity. Think of the meaning of the mantra while repeating it.
Carry on the current of japa mentally even at other times, in whatever works one may be engaged. Even if one is busy with house-hold work or other activities, where one is not required to speak, one can continuously chant the mantra in the mind, simultaneously while engaged in activities. One should thus put a stop to the thought-producing machinery called the mind. Funeral pyre burns the dead body and lasts for only a few hours, but worries (thoughts) burn us within seemingly endlessly. So, an intelligent seeker should burn the worries as quickly as possible with the power of mantra japa.
When the mind becomes single-pointed and one becomes deeply absorbed in the mantra, one may suddenly be confronted by a vision or thought that arises almost unexpectedly. This represents one of the deeper problems and it needs to be removed. Mere awareness will do this. It is at this stage, where one goes below surface thoughts and one starts to clean out the mind.
According to the sages, the vaasanaa-s will be destroyed only through vichaara. Japa yoga is a great help for aatma vichaara.
To one who has gained a sufficient poise in this subjective art of single-pointedness gained through the practice of contemplation, to him, meditation is natural, for, meditation itself is but a conscious attempt to “maintain” the mind in one channel of thoughts of the same variety.
Japa is, thus, a very healthy and effective aid to meditation, if properly practised and regularly pursued. Regularity and sincerity are the secrets of success in spirituality. Guard the mind against all excesses and make it immune to selfishness and passion. Watch how imperceptibly the mind ties itself down with things and beings, happenings and circumstances by its own unintelligent attachments. Even when all these warnings are faithfully obeyed, there is still a subtle danger of the japa saadhanaa being muddled with our chronic thirst for fruits. Profit motive is the strongest urge in man in all his strenuous activities. Japa, polluted by sakaama (profit motive), cannot end in the spiritual effulgence of the one doing it.
Consider japa saadhanaa as a yajna. The potential strength of blessing that lies dormant in japa will thereby be invoked and to one who is under its grace, meditation is home-coming. The effectiveness of japa, to a large extent, depends upon the spirit of surrender with which the seeker is practising it.
Ajapa Japa: The suffix ‘a’ in front of japa implies that the process of japa becomes spontaneous. That is, japa is transformed into ajapa when the mantra repeats itself without effort; the mantra has been planted so deeply through japa that one’s whole being pulsates with that mantra. Japa requires conscious effort, whereas ajapa is effortless. It is said that japa comes from the mouth whereas ajapa comes from the heart. Japa is the preliminary practice and ajapa is the perfection of japa.
When one advances in practice, every pore in the skin, every hair on the body, will repeat the mantra effortlessly. The whole system will be charged with the powerful vibrations of the mantra. One will ever be in the love of the Lord. One may experience muscular twitching and may shed profuse tears of joy. One may be in exalted divine mood. One may get inspiration, revelation, ecstasy, insight, intuition and bliss. It helps to release the incredible dormant faculties and power that is the inheritance of us all. One may compose inspiring poems. One may have various siddhi-s, divine aishvarya and treasures of heaven.
Once a certain level of single-pointedness is attained one should progress towards witnessing the silence between two chanting—at the end of one and before the beginning of the next—where there are no thought eruptions. As soon as a thought appears the next chanting is done to cut the thought. This is the real sandhyaa (conjunction, twilight period) vandana. With practice one should increase the period of sandhyaa or the silence. Be absorbed more and more in this sandhyaa. Slowly one will be able to attain the no-mind state. This is the acme of japa yoga.
Falling asleep or having a wandering mind during japa and a bad temper soon after japa saadhanaa, are the problems associated with japa yoga. The seeker should patiently fight these tendencies and win them over. Sleep comes because a mind in japa is a mind at rest. To shake of sleep one can either chant in vaikhari vaani or stand up and do the japa. When the left nostril is free-flowing and the right one is blocked or semi-blocked then one will most likely fall asleep and if the right nostril is free-flowing and the left is blocked or semi-blocked one will not fall asleep but one’s mind will wander. Practice paadadhiraasana. It will keep both the nostrils free-flowing.
Bad temper comes because of two reasons: suppression of tendencies and fatigue. The former starts with the saadhak's annoyance at his wandering mind during japa. The later is caused by exhaustion, because to hold the mind in balance at a given line of thought is a great strain to the beginner and hence his mind gets fatigued.
A person practising japa should consume only very saatvik food, which will cause the growth of sattva guna in him. Moderate, pure and pleasing food is considered as very saatvik. The yogi who practices moderation in food and has conquered the praana, his mind becomes extremely pure through mantra japa and merges in the light of awareness.
In the ancient times, the ladies used to chant Gaayatri as freely as men. So says Manu (Manusmrti, II—147 and 148). In the ancient times all ladies had their upanayanam performed. They used to learn the Veda-s, teach the Veda-s to others and chant the Gaayatri mantra. Here the term 'ladies' used cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be conceived as meaning only the ladies of the braahmana or the kshatriya families, but all ladies.
In fact, the spiritual unfoldment through mantra-upaasanaa is found more readily in ladies than in men. Thus the shaastra injunctions take us to the conclusion that women too can, rather should, chant the Gaayatri mantra regularly in their morning and evening worship. In fact, there are repeated declarations in our shaastra-s that if the effects of the saadhanaa performed by men are their own, the spiritual benefits acquired by the womenfolk are shared by their husbands, children, their families and the entire society.
In fact, it is evident now that japa properly undertaken, is not only a preparation for meditative flights, but it can in itself serve as a vehicle which can lift us, from the pains and ugliness of our imperfections, to the very throne of the infinite, the perfect.
May you come to realize the joy and bliss of this supreme saadhanaa—the japa yoga.
Friday, March 18, 2011
SOURCE:THE HIMALAYAN BEACON
PHOTOS BY SAGAR SUNAR AND RUPAK CHETTRI
Artists from Sikkim perform Maruni Dance during the opening ceremony of North East Spring Festival organise by North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) at Dimapur, Nagaland on wednesday March 16, 2011.
INTACH felicitates Miss Raksha Rai
The Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH) Sikkim Chapter felicitated the East India Regional Winner of the Indian Essay writing competition Miss Raksha Rai along with the other eight participants from Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok.
INTACH in collaboration with Fox History TV Channel had organized two events last year in 2010 namely Heritage Walk and Essay Writing Competition on the topic “My City My History”. Additional Secretary, Cultural Affairs and Heritage Department Mr. R.T. Lepcha also the Chief Guest for the day in his brief address congratulated the winners and the participants. “Heritage in the context of Sikkim is numerous,” stated Mr. Lepcha.
Mr. Lepcha said that the traditions should be kept alive and should be honored. Informing about the state government’s attempt to conserve the age old heritage Mr. Lepcha said that in total 900 traditional healers (witch doctors) are being paid with an amount of Rs 500/- per month by the government. Adding further Mr. Lepcha also informed that a Multipurpose Community Centre is on the verge of completion which will house a State Library along with all the modern facilities, construction of a State Museum below Tashi Namgyal Academy (TNA) compound and a Habitat Centre below White Hall will soon be started.
Raksha RaiRaksha Rai
Convener of INTACH Sikkim Chapter Mr. P.K Dong in his address said that INTACH was basically formed to create awareness in the community starting from the school children about the value of heritage and also to respect the knowledge, experience and skills of the past. Mr. Dong added that the All India Essay Writing Competition was for the school students of classes 6 to 9 and the participants had to write an essay on little known facts or unusual story about their own city, town or village. Four schools had participated from the state with a total of 20 students.
Though the quantity of participants was low, the quality of their essays was high, exclaimed Mr. Dong. To become a member of INTACH one does not need to be archaeologist or a historian. One has to be emotionally involved in appreciating the value to heritage, have reverence to our ancestors for their contribution in preserving nature and creating beautiful artifacts, music, costumes and many more along with enough care for the conservation of heritage of India in general and Sikkim in particular. Every day in the name of progress and development a historic monument, building, manuscript or a natural heritage is destroyed but we must remember a heritage once lost is lost forever added the convener.
The Principal of Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok Mrs. S.S. Lata Chettri expressed her gratitude towards INTACH and the former Principal of the school Mrs. C.C. Bhutia along with two other teachers under whose guidance the students were encouraged to come forward and prove their worth and make the state proud.
Out of 20 participants Miss Raksha Rai of Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok and Miss Anita Subba of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Namchi were shortlisted among the 5 winners of the East India Region for their essay on “Sakewa” and “Rabdentse” respectively. All the participants of Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok articulated their essays during the function.
Shri S K Sarda, Co-Convenor- Sikkim Chapter -INTACH also addressed the gathering
Courtesy: Sikkim Mail
The Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH) Sikkim Chapter felicitated the East India Regional Winner of the Indian Essay writing competition Miss Raksha Rai along with the other eight participants from Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok.
INTACH in collaboration with Fox History TV Channel had organized two events last year in 2010 namely Heritage Walk and Essay Writing Competition on the topic “My City My History”. Additional Secretary, Cultural Affairs and Heritage Department Mr. R.T. Lepcha also the Chief Guest for the day in his brief address congratulated the winners and the participants. “Heritage in the context of Sikkim is numerous,” stated Mr. Lepcha.
Mr. Lepcha said that the traditions should be kept alive and should be honored. Informing about the state government’s attempt to conserve the age old heritage Mr. Lepcha said that in total 900 traditional healers (witch doctors) are being paid with an amount of Rs 500/- per month by the government. Adding further Mr. Lepcha also informed that a Multipurpose Community Centre is on the verge of completion which will house a State Library along with all the modern facilities, construction of a State Museum below Tashi Namgyal Academy (TNA) compound and a Habitat Centre below White Hall will soon be started.
Raksha RaiRaksha Rai
Convener of INTACH Sikkim Chapter Mr. P.K Dong in his address said that INTACH was basically formed to create awareness in the community starting from the school children about the value of heritage and also to respect the knowledge, experience and skills of the past. Mr. Dong added that the All India Essay Writing Competition was for the school students of classes 6 to 9 and the participants had to write an essay on little known facts or unusual story about their own city, town or village. Four schools had participated from the state with a total of 20 students.
Though the quantity of participants was low, the quality of their essays was high, exclaimed Mr. Dong. To become a member of INTACH one does not need to be archaeologist or a historian. One has to be emotionally involved in appreciating the value to heritage, have reverence to our ancestors for their contribution in preserving nature and creating beautiful artifacts, music, costumes and many more along with enough care for the conservation of heritage of India in general and Sikkim in particular. Every day in the name of progress and development a historic monument, building, manuscript or a natural heritage is destroyed but we must remember a heritage once lost is lost forever added the convener.
The Principal of Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok Mrs. S.S. Lata Chettri expressed her gratitude towards INTACH and the former Principal of the school Mrs. C.C. Bhutia along with two other teachers under whose guidance the students were encouraged to come forward and prove their worth and make the state proud.
Out of 20 participants Miss Raksha Rai of Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok and Miss Anita Subba of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Namchi were shortlisted among the 5 winners of the East India Region for their essay on “Sakewa” and “Rabdentse” respectively. All the participants of Deorali Girls Senior Secondary School, Gangtok articulated their essays during the function.
Shri S K Sarda, Co-Convenor- Sikkim Chapter -INTACH also addressed the gathering
Courtesy: Sikkim Mail
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A Mahatma Announces Fast unto Death on CORRUPTION
A Mahatma Announces Fast unto Death
Anna Hazare has given an ultimatum to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to enact a stringent anti-corruption law – the people’s “Jan Lokpal Bill”!
Jail to the corrupt a must! We have been betrayed by those that are leading us!
When & Where?
From 5th April at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
Who is Anna Hazare?
A soldier, lone survivor in his unit in1965 Indo-Pak war, Anna dedicated his life to the well-being of society. A bachelor, an ascetic, he has no possessions, no bank balance and lives in a temple. He is a living Mahatma Gandhi!
In Maharashtra, Anna has single handedly transformed barren and dry regions into green and food surplus areas. He has fasted unto death on several earlier occasions. He forced the Maharashtra government to dismiss the corrupt - 6 ministers and 400 officers. Due to his fast, the govt enacted the Maharashtra RTI Act. In 2006, when government of India tried to amend the Central RTI Act, he again went on an indefinite fast and forced the Indian government not to amend RTI Act.
Leaders, organizations and the common man from across India will be with him. This is a do or die moment – let us make it happen!
Across India, join Swami Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravishankar, Swami Agnivesh, Arch Bishop Vincent Concessao, Mahmood A Madani,Kiran Bedi, J M Lyngdoh, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Mufti Shamoom Qasmi, Mallika Sarabhai, Arun Bhatia, Sunita Godara, AllIndia Bank Employees Federation, PAN IIT Alumni Association, Common Cause and many other prominent organizations and leaders participatd as India comes out on the streets! 100+ CITIES WILL RALLY BEHIND ANNA!
This is a defining moment for India that can give our children a better future! Let us unite and standby him! Thousands will be there to support him. Will you be there?
Anna’s appeal to the people:
· When I sit on fast from 5 April, I urge my fellow countrymen to join me in fasting for one, two, three or whatever number of days you can comfortably fast.
· Along with fast, please pray to God (whoever you believe in) for better and corruption free India. Collective prayers from all the people of India would definitely have a huge impact.
· Write an impassioned plea to our Prime Minister that we look upon him to pass “Jan Lokpal Bill”, else we will be compelled not to vote for his party in next elections.
· Remain calm and peaceful and develop the courage to go to jail, if required, in this next freedom movement.
· If possible, come and stay with Anna at Jantar Mantar for a few days from April 5th.
Salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill
Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal, this Bill has been refined on the basis of feedback received from public on website and after series of public consultations. It has also been vetted by and is supported by Shanti Bhushan, J M Lyngdoh, Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare etc. It was sent to the PM and all CMs on 1st December. However, there is no response.
JAN LOKPAL BILL
- An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up
- Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.
- Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.
- The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.
- How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.
- So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month’s time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal, like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.
- But won’t the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won’t be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.
- What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any office of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.
- What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
JAN LOKPAL BILL will act as deterrent and instil fear against corruption
(This movement is neither affiliated nor aligned to any political party)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Asia
Asia view
The Dalai Lama resigns
So long, farewell
Mar 14th 2011, 7:10 by A.Y. | DELHI Source: The Economist
AFTER six decades as the living emblem of Tibetans in exile from Chinese-ruled Tibet, the Dalai Lama prepared on March 14th to present his resignation from all “formal authority”. The understanding is that he will cede his role as the community's political leader while retaining his place at the apogee of Tibetan Buddhism. He announced plans for his departure from political life just last week; many of his countrymen were caught off guard and have yet to regain their footing.
Every year on March 10th the Dalai Lama gives a speech commemorating Tibet’s national day of “uprising”. He did so last week per usual, from Dharamsala, his abode in northern India, on the 52nd anniversary of Tibet’s failed attempt to resist China’s takeover. His Holiness spoke at a podium, holding a thin sheaf of stapled pages in one hand and gesticulating with the other, before a packed audience at the main Buddhist temple in Dharamsala. His speech, nearly 20 minutes long, lauded Tibetan resilience and urged China to end repression in Tibet. So much was expected. It was near the end when the Dalai Lama created a stir.
The spiritual leader of Tibet reminded his audience that ever since the 1960s he has “stressed that Tibetans need a leader elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power. Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect.” He formally proposed amending the Charter for Tibetans in Exile, a constitution drafted by high-ranking exiles in 1991, to devolve his formal authority when the Tibetan parliament-in-exile started its next session, the morning of March 14th. In the past, the Dalai Lama has played down his formal political role in the Tibetan movement. Nevertheless the executive power of the Tibetan exile administration has all the while been vested in him, according to the terms of the charter.
This is not the first time that the Dalai Lama has proposed retiring from the spotlight as leader of the Tibetan movement. But last week’s was his most serious declaration yet about transferring political responsibilities to an elected leadership. Whether his resignation is accepted or not, he means to make plain that he can no longer be relied upon as the movement’s supremo.
This might seem untimely, given Tibet political predicament. Talks between the Chinese government and the Tibetan exiles are badly stalled. The Dalai Lama himself, though in good health, is now 75 years old. The question of his succession is perennial, and thorny, when it comes between China and the exile government. Last week, Padma Choling, the Chinese-appointed governor of Tibet, made the dumbfounding assertion that the Dalai Lama must follow the tradition of reincarnation and cannot choose his successor. Strange as it is to see the Communist Party dictating the terms of a Buddhist reincarnation, it wouldn’t be the first time China has intervened with succession of Tibetan Buddhist leaders. After the Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, died in 1989, the Dalai Lama recognised a young boy living in Tibet as his reincarnation: the “next” Panchen Lama—or the same one, as it were. China however preferred a different Tibetan boy, whom it installed as Panchen Lama on its own. The Dalai Lama’s appointee was placed under indefinite house arrest; his whereabouts remain unknown.
Yet the Dalai Lama insists that devolution would “benefit Tibetans in the long run”. He emphasised the importance of a democratic, secular government, one that can function independent of his guidance. “We have been able to implement democracy-in-exile that is in keeping with the standards of an open society,” he claimed. Another step in that process is scheduled for March 20th, when Tibetans living in different 30 countries will have the chance to vote for a new prime minister of the exile government. They will choose from a field of three candidates, all of them Tibetan men of secular credential.
A high-ranking monk has been serving as prime minister for the past decade. But the new, elected leader will be expected play a more prominent role in the Tibetan movement. The March 20th election will mark the culmination of a year-long campaign by Tibetan NGOs and bodies within the exile government to raise awareness among Tibetans about the democratic process. They have staged mock elections along the way. The results of the actual election are expected to be finalised by May.
The Dalai Lama insists that he will not be abandoning the Tibetan people nor shirking his responsibility to them. He says he has planned the devolution “not because I feel disheartened”. “Tibetans have placed such faith and trust in me that as one among them I am committed to playing my part in the just cause of Tibet.”
However determined he may be to cede his political role, the Dalai Lama will not find it easy to relinquish some of his responsibilities. Many Tibetans, along with the exile government itself, already opposes his new move. The Kashag, or cabinet of the exile government, responded to the Dalai Lama’s proposal in a plaintive voice. “A great number of Tibetans in exile...collectively and individually have been ardently supplicating His Holiness the Dalai Lama not to take such a step,” said the Kashag’s statement. “We, the Kashag, would like to make the same request in the strongest terms.”
The Dalai Lama expected resistance and he addressed that too. “I trust that gradually people will come to understand my intention, will support my decision and accordingly let it take effect,” he entreated. Even if he the Dalai Lama is ready for this move, most Tibetans are not. The Kashag may well reject his formal resignation. But he has made his intention clear.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
What might have been…
8 January 2011
Sikkim’s history under the Chogyals was one of timid submission before militarily superior forces and submissive appeals to Tibet for support. The one bright spot was the stiff and evidently perilous resistance put up by the legendary Pagla Dewan to stop the intrigues of an ascendant Raj, writes Romit BagchiA PROVERB has it that had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter, the face of the world would have changed. Though history, when viewed against a classical definition, happens to record stark facts with little scope for the imagination, it is difficult to ignore the temptation of brooding over the “ifs and buts”.
Though Henry Ford said years back that, “History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today,” a creative dissection of history as a means to inform the present remains a proud portion of academic discourse.
Nonetheless, the history of Sikkim under the monarchical reign of the Tibet-backed Namgyals, vis-Ã -vis the ascending graph of English imperialism, is one of the stronger bullying the weaker into effete submission. The ruling dynasty never adequately rose to the occasion of defending itself against the muscle-flexing intrigue of the British, save for a brief period when the redoubtable Dewan (Prime Minister), Duniya Namgay (nicknamed Pagla Dewan by the crafty British) dared the fast-penetrating East India Company during the reign of the seventh Chogyal, Tshudphud Namgyal (1785-1863). Duniya, known for his pro-Tibetan stance and inveterate disdain for the British, went all out to teach the Company a lesson or two. But the Chogyal stepped back and cowered. Pagla Dewan was banished to Tibet and the Tumlong Accord was enforced in 1861, which reduced Sikkim to a subservient British ally.
Had the Namgyal thrown his weight behind the Dewan at that critical time when Sikkim looked poised for a showdown, history might have been at least a shade different. Then again, for how long the Company’s advance into the heart of the Himalayas could have been resisted is anybody’s guess, given that it had already gained a strategic foothold in Darjeeling.
The time was uncertain for Namgyal rule. The land deed executed by Tshudphud Namgyal gifting Darjeeling to the Company in 1835 angered Tibet. It feared the British would soon advance into the depths of the Himalayas beyond Sikkim’s frontiers – it was well known then that the Company’s design was to establish trade with Tibet. But Tibet was singularly resolved to protect its snowy solitude from any alien contamination and so punished Sikkim for exposing its jealously guarded civilisation accordingly. The Namgyal was restricted to visiting Chumbi Valley (then in Tibet, though earlier it was under Sikkim) once in eight years.
The grazing rights of Sikkimese across its northern border were also withdrawn. And of lesser import, the exchange of gifts involving the reigning families of both countries was stopped.
The Namgyal was desperate to mend fences with Tibet.
Placation became all the more imperative as the ruling dynasty in Sikkim had earned the wrath of two formidable neighbours on its west and east — Nepal and Bhutan. The Chogyal appointed Duniya Namgay the Dewan. Apart from being related to the Tshudphud Namgyal (he married the ruler’s daughter), he was known for his strong pro-Tibet and anti-British stance.
He had absolute control over Sikkim’s trade with Tibet and was thus strongly disposed against any tie-up with the Company. Sikkim’s relationship with the British kept worsening at that point of time over the issue of slaves. The Raj regime outlawed the practice of slavery in Darjeeling while it was still prevalent in Sikkim.
The latter alleged that the British had been providing shelter to slaves who migrated from Sikkim to Company-ruled Darjeeling while the British charged Sikkim with abducting its subjects from Darjeeling and selling them as slaves.
This apart, Sikkim’s vanity was outraged when the Company took away Darjeeling without giving back the land known as Deogaon (Dabgram in Jalpaiguri) as per the conditions attached to the land deed. To add insult to injury, the Company sent a double-barrelled gun, a rusted rifle and two pairs of shawls by way of thanking the Namgyal for his munificence in gifting Darjeeling to it. Besides, it even condescended to agree to an annual rent of Rs 3,000 for Darjeeling in 1841 and that, too, after several representations. The Namgyal’s appeal to accord rent from the year of the deed — 1835 — was turned down, though five years later the sum was increased to Rs 9,000.
The brewing tension between the regimes reached a flashpoint when Darjeeling superintendent Dr A Campbell and celebrated botanist Dr Joseph Hooker decided to travel through Sikkim. Once bitten twice shy, the Namgyal was singularly reluctant to allow them passage through Sikkimese territory. Their intention, though apparently innocuous, was suspect in the eyes of the Chogyal given the bitter experience vis-Ã -vis the Darjeeling episode.
Perhaps more importantly, Tibet would not take things kindly if the ruling dispensation in Sikkim buckled under Company pressure. Without categorically denying permission, the Sikkim regime made it clear it was not interested in having the two English dignitaries as guests.
With British pride having been hurt, the duo rode to the Tibetan border up to Chola Pass. There they faced Tibetan resistance and moved back into Sikkim, where the Dewan’s men held them captive.
Sunanda K Datta-Ray gives an amusing account in his well-known book, Smash and Grab, of what happened to the two British dignitaries. “According to Sikkimese lore, Campbell, who was bound hand and foot, began yelling ‘Hooker! Hooker! The savages are murdering me!’, whereupon one of his captors ordered, ‘If he wants hookah let him have one!’ The unfortunate superintendent was forced to the ground and Duniya Namgay’s own hookah was thrust into his mouth and held there for a considerable time.”
The truculent Dewan’s musclemen freed the duo only after it was learnt that the Company was sending a regiment endowed with three guns. But this was not enough to keep the British contended. As was their wont, they bayed for blood. Of course, in their way; in retaliation for the humiliation inflicted on their sense of honour by the Dewan and his men, they not only stopped paying Sikkim the annual rent for Darjeeling but proceeded to annex the whole of Morang (the plains known as the Terai, which included Siliguri) and a slice of the hills. This annexation was an imperative as viewed from the standpoint of the Company. Previously, the newly acquired Darjeeling was almost a land- locked territory choked on all sides by the kingdom of Sikkim. The vast swathe of land thus annexed which ran into nearly 640 square miles helped the Company’s prized possession to become accessible to the plains up to Purnea and Rangpur.
Prodigious as the British ego was, they were far from being assuaged by the expansion of their possession by way of annexation. They were intent on further consolidating their position in the strategic region. Besides, the desire to pay Pagla Dewan his due was also uppermost on their mind.
The opportunity came their way as Sikkim ventured on another move to collect slaves from Darjeeling. The Company again embarked on a military venture. Led by Campbell who was licking the wounds inflicted by the Dewan’s men, a large contingent moved into Sikkim in 1860. But again the truculent shadow of the Duniya Namguay came in triumphal march. The guards on the payroll of the Sikkim durbar repulsed the move under the command of Pagla Duniya at Rinchinpong.
Armed with the most primitive forms of implements unimaginable, even during those times, they forced the advancing Company troops to retreat.
Some of the Company’s troops (the exact account is unavailable, for the Company spared no efforts to suppress the truth) were crushed to death as men loyal to Pagla Dewan pounced on them using stone slabs as shields. Enthused by the Company retreat, the Dewan erected camps at Namche. The much-touted military expedition led by none other than Campbell himself fizzled out thus within a few weeks.
The ignonimous retreat made the British think in terms of entangling Sikkim deep into statutory obligations. For it remained apprehensive of the backlash from Tibet and China in case of a fresh military penetration into the country. But they were aware that with Pagla Dewan exerting influence on Sikkim’s politico-administrative structure they would have to somehow force the Chogyal into accepting a treaty, the terms and conditions of which would be designed to rob the kingdom of every semblance of sovereignty.
Accordingly, another force consisting of nearly 2,000 men was sent into Sikkim under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel JC Gawler in 1861. The timing was significant as the Chogyal was away from the capital, spending days in Chumbi Valley under Tibetan protection. His son, Sidekong, was made successor to the throne, the intention being to force him to sign a treaty to be prepared absolutely on British terms. The previous Titaliya Treaty, along with other agreements signed from time to time, was revoked and a new one replaced it. It came to be known as the Treaty of Tumlong, signed in March 1861.
Craftily designed, the treaty was an astute attempt to reduce Sikkim to a de facto protectorate state of the British regime while pledging to restore all of Sikkim, then under British occupation, to the Gyalpo (king) and to ensure peace and amity between the two states. But there was one condition attached unofficially. Duniya Namgay had to be banished from Sikkim. The Gyalpo was also barred from staying in Tibet for more than three months at a time. The Dewan was deported to Chumbi Valley and the principal impediment to British expansionist designs was thus removed.
The new ruler acquiesced without the least murmur. And significantly, neither Tibet nor China did anything. But remaining true to the British characteristic of forthrightness, they, albeit grudgingly, admired Pagla Dewan as “a man of considerable strength of character and real ability, a quality so rare in these parts”.
In his report on a visit to Sikkim and the Tibetan frontier published in 1873, J Ware Edgar referred to the Dewan as “a man of great eagerness for information and a rare insight in grasping the meaning of subjects quite outside his own experience”. This is no mean tribute from those who represented the cause of British imperialism about someone who proved a formidable stumbling block in their expansionist stratagem.
But why did the Gyalpos fail to take the lead and back the redoubtable Dewan and go all out against this alien dispensation, and that, too, at a time when soliciting support from Tibet and China was not impossible? True, both Tibet and China cowered before the ascendant British from time to time. But at least a token of solidarity from these two mighty neighbours for beleaguered Sikkim would have made the astute British think twice before moving in and coercing it into submission. Tibet, particularly the Sixth Dalai Lama, did help Sikkim in regard to the annexation drive launched by the Dev Raja of Bhutan in 1706. Before that, China and Tibet proved a deterrent to the conquering expedition made by the Gorkhas following the ascendancy of Prithvi Narayan Shah.
The British policy from the beginning was against antagonising Tibet and China, partly because of the Company’s eagerness to open trade facilities with them and partly for the ethnic volatility and strategic significance of the Mongoloid region across the Himalayas.
In regard to Darjeeling’s accession into the Company’s holdings, higher officials were against taking things too far since the ruler was not disposed to cede it. However, later the situation changed as Company officials, entrusted with the task, achieved the “miracle” of gaining the Sikkim durbar’s agreement to their Darjeeling design. But that is another story altogether.
However, what caused a Tibet-China reluctance to help Sikkim at that critical juncture is worth a probe. The history behind the emergence of the Namgyal dynasty as the reigning power in Sikkim under Tibetan tutelage is interesting. Sikkim, then known as a vassal colony of Tibet, preferred to remain so. The Namgyal dynasty that ascended to the throne, thanks to some Tibetan monks, had never tried to leave the Tibetan shadow in the course of its chequered history, either in matters ecclesiastical or temporal. Whenever the kingdom came under threat of attack from outside, the Chogyals escaped to Tibet without sorting out the crisis.
Tibet was known in Sanskrit as Bhot Desh and the Tibetans were called Bhots. The advent of the Bhots in Sikkim date back to the 10th century AD. Buddhism, however, stepped into Sikkim with the arrival of the revered Guru Padma Sambhava in 747 AD. He is supposed to have “exorcised” the region of “evil spirits”, making it favorable for the advent of Buddhism. He spent several years there absorbed in meditation. He is also supposed to have wandered through the land, consecrating every place he trod for the sweeping advent of Buddhism.
Tibetans named the place “Beyul Demazong”, meaning “hidden land of rice”. With the Tibetans arrived their Mahayana Buddhism. However, Sikkim was not a virgin place for the Tibetans or the “Bhotias”. Several tribes, particularly the Lepchas, known as the autoch thones or aboriginals, inhabited the land well before the Tibetans did. According to several eminent anthropologists, the Lepchas are not the only community to be regarded as aboriginals. There were other tribes like the Tsongs or Limboos who are supposed to have inhabited the land well before the Lepchas. Several Mongoloid tribes that were later clubbed together as Nepalis, like the Tsongs or Limboos, Gurungs, Rais, Mangars and Tamangs, had well been in Sikkim when the Lepchas arrived, perhaps from Assam or upper Burma, according to a school of anthropology.
Tibetans started arriving in Sikkim principally by the beginning of the 10th century AD. There were several reasons that goaded them to explore the region. First of all, the migration happened for trade. For Tibet turned into a centre for trade, with several places like Gyantse and Yatung having gained eminence as hubs. This aside, a large section of the people being shepherds, exploration of fresh pastures down the Himalayas for grazing was imperative, particularly as large tracts of Tibetan lands became impassable during the bitter winters. There were also political reasons for Tibet had always been easy prey for predators. Apart from the Chinese, Turks and even Mongols invaded that land of Buddhism repeatedly. And over and above, there was a religious reason. The tracts they migrated into were devoid of any religion before their advent, according to Tibetan lore. It was full of a pagan propitiation of the darker forces of subliminal nature, they thought. According to some accounts, the Tibetan lamas burnt Lepcha scriptures, branding these as unenlightened hobnobbing with forces representing evil. They claimed to have brought the Lamaist Buddhism to cleanse the region of pagan mumbo-jumbo.
The forbears of the first Chogyal (meaning protector of righteousness or dharma), Phuntsog came from Kham in east Tibet probably by the beginning of the 10th century AD. According to legend, three lamas assembled at a place now known as Yuksum in western Sikkim by the middle of the 17th century after traversing a lot of rugged terrain in Tibet. It is supposed that they had been guided by a prophecy made long ago that they would be instrumental in establishing the reign of dharma in the hitherto hidden land of Demazong. And the person who was to be consecrated as the first Chogyal or Dharma Raja is also supposed to have been the preordained one descending from an illustrious linage from Kham in eastern Tibet.
The coronation of Phuntsog was duly sanctified as per Mahayana Buddhist rituals and held in 1642, though some historians put the year at 1646. Even the name Namgyal was bestowed upon the linage by one of the lamas during the coronation. Since then the Namgyal dynasty kept ruling Sikkim as Tibet’s subservient proxy till May 1975 when it was merged with India. Tibet’s hold on Sikkim was so strong that China kept claiming it as part of its territory following the “annexation” of Tibet in 1959. It then gave up its claim and recognised Sikkim as part of India as late as in 2004.
The history of Sikkim under Namgyals was one of timid submission before militarily superior forces and submissive appeals to Tibet for support. However, Tibet was not always able to come to the rescue of its de facto protectorate; weak as it was itself in military might. But perhaps the more important reason is that its colony, bereft of resilient valour, tended to buckle under the minimum pressure.
However, the legendary Pagla Dewan put up stiff and evidently perilous resistance to the advancing intrigues of the ascendant British, even if his valiant endeavour fizzled out for lack of matching intent from mentors both in Sikkim and outside.
source: The Statesman
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