Vipanchi

"Gandhi was a tough man. He would let every thought flow through him but never let them wreck his own convictions" I grew up learning Mahatma Gandhi as 'The Father of The Nation'. I remember giving alms to old people and kids dressed up in the dhoti with a glaring silver paint on them almost looking like the ubiquitous statues of Gandhi in India. Yeah, I have seen him on currency notes and heard at least a road named after him in many towns. As I explored a bit deeper, I was awestruck by the stature of Mahatma world over. The British who must be his prime contenders have constructed his statue in the parliament square. They see him as the symbol of peace and non-violence. Then I asked myself,   How much do I know about Mahatma? Is he relevant to modern India? Modern India can be comprehended into an English speaking , Market-driven, society laying fast track trains, living in bustling cities sending humans to the outer space on one side,...

Indian independence movement is one of the earliest peaceful movements against the British rule. It opened doors for Non-violent protests against oppressors across the world. Gandhiji is credited for this idea. Indian freedom struggle is mainly classified into three phases: Moderate phase - prayer, petition, protest. Extremist phase - violent revolt. Gandhian phase - Peaceful non-co-operation. What made Gandhian phase unique? The moderate leaders of freedom struggle, though mostly viewed as unsuccessful, were responsible for forming the counter arguments to " white man's burden" theory  of  the British. They prepared ground, propounded theories for intellectual understanding of the British exploitation of India. The extremists, mostly young leaders, believed in complete freedom, resorted to violent means to overthrow the British . However, there was no significant harm done to the British. It is at this juncture that Gandhian philosophy came handy.  Ga...

Hellow, now I thought to put forth a question on to my readers, a profound question, at least to me. People hold great respect in serving others. Though many of us cannot help us from those rich brands or that luxurious cuisine offered in a very prestigious hotel, we think sometimes, to help those people in need. When we come out of a mall or while we travel in a luxurious car, it pricks us when we look at that uncared old lady sleeping under the flyover, or a child begging desperately on roads. We never know if they are the victims of that giant begging mafia or became homeless after a disastrous cyclone. It bothers me often when I see someone homeless, helpless, devoid of any kind of human dignity. There are instances where kids share their food with the dogs in the dustbin. I think over it many times and there are many instances which made me cry. Whenever I get a chance I tend to help them, no, give them what they deserve. I feel it is my duty to serve them. But i...

Hi, this is my second post on the theme of spirituality. As I proceed I will try to consolidate my ever evolving and transforming views on the god-the superpower. My interaction with God or my quest for God started when I was a small kid. My grandma used to tell me a story of Lord Krishna coming and helping a small boy who crosses a very wild forest every day to reach his gurukul. He believes in his mom's words that ANNA-KRISHNA will come to help him to cross the forest. To make that belief real or to uphold the trust of the boy in him, Krishna comes every day. The moral of the story was that "God helps those in need of him if they trust him". That was a beautiful story to have an impact on my little mind. I started to believe in God to fulfill all my petty wants from candy to exam. Thus started my conversation with God. Then as I grew up I started learning from spiritual experiences of many Tyagis like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi. I began ...

My god is very simple.He is someone who listens to me whenever in need.He is someone who offers me solutions at difficult times.He is someone who offers me a direction.He is my strength and cannot be my weakness.He never wants me to to take a head bath on a particular day of a week,chant mantras and do bhajans. He wants me to grow up,learn new things,enjoy the spiritual path and reach him. He is always with me and so he never wants me to see him in the temple.Rather, he wants me to got to the temple to see the artistic skill of the sculptor, to appreciate the handwork that a priest puts in to attract people to temple,to learn to communicate with different people and to help those dependent on temple for their livelihood. My lord is not human.He never asks me to differentiate people based on their faith,color,status or any other.He does not care about rites and rituals.Their costs too.He tells me that unlike us-humans, he cannot differentiate between young-old,learned-ignorant,...