ईमान और कुफ्र

मैं जानता हूँ दुनिया के खेल ये सारे ,
न सफ़ेद , न स्याह कुछ रंग तुम्हारे।

ईमान क्यूँ तड़पे ,बेसुध वक़्त किनारे,
कुफ्र की बस्ती में है क्यूँ रोशन मीनारें।

काफिला ए जीस्त में यह शोर कैसा है,
रूह की बस्ती में कुछ जिबह हुआ है।

ज़िंदा लाशों की बारात चलती है ,
शहर में अब कभी न रात ढलती है।

Winter

निर्निमेष चक्षु चातक बन ,
चंद्र कला की बाट निहारें। 
शीत बिंदु और धवल चन्द्रिका,
स्मृतियों के कुंतल सुलझाएं। 

श्वेत - श्याम और हरित पीत सब,
जीवन के कितने ही मधुरस। 
सहज विहँसते पृष्ठ काल में
अलि, भावों की रसना ने पाए। 

ह्रदय ,आत्म है प्रतिपल सिंचित,
सुरभि सुखद प्रेम मय वह स्मित।
प्रेम केतु और मिलन राहु सा ,
परिग्रह का क्या अमिय पिया है। 

अगम अतीत हुए कितने ही ,
मधुर प्रतीत हुए उतने ही।
स्वर तेरा संगीत हुआ है ,
जीवन से नव प्रीत हुआ है।  

Integral education model & SDGs in Tribal India.

The role of education is to add value to Man in such a manner that he is able to achieve his socio economic and cultural aspirations through all times and generations.

Mankind’s civilizational journey had been a journey of incorporating education with available resources for an ever better world. This sojourn has historically yielded several, simpler to complex, social utility paradigms for man himself. Combination of resources with education has produced Man’s social utility. While the resources (Land , labour , Capital , Entrepreneurship) have remained a hygiene factor , the education has played the major differentiator. Education helped mankind in better exploitation of resources towards his personal and social good.

Resources coupled with education made men socially more useful. This relative social utility became man’s value index in the society. Most of the times this social utility was directly proportionate with the livelihood of the man concerned, barring some exceptions.

India suffers jeopardy on both fronts : education as well as resources. Our resources remain underutilized, and along with this underutilization, we also have trends of misutilization due to lack of integral education. As a country we waste lots of resources knowingly or unknowingly.

When we take a closer look at the tribal parts of India , this effect of dwarfed social utility haunts us even further. All the evils of humanity plague this part of India , not just due to the lack of resources , but, also, due to lack of an education which can enrich the resources while ensuring optimum exploitation.

The tribals constitute 8.6% of the population of India , amounting to 104 million out of 1.21 billion as per Census 2011. Tribals inhabit almost 15% part of India’s geography. These areas are unfortunately the nadir of India’s HDI story. The focus on tribal development has been speeded up by successive governments. Yet the tales of illiteracy , unemployment , poverty and malnutrition offer a big threshold to cross before the morning of development dawns here.

Are the tribals of India losing out in the race of sustainable social utility despite prolonged government concerns and herculean exercises? At times many sections of tribal India are not even aware and worried of their proneness to the globalized world. Aspirations galore less in these areas.

“Historically, the economy of most tribes in India was hunting and food gathering and then subsequently based on subsistence agriculture. A large number of tribal population in rural areas of India is still dependent on forests for their livelihood, and therefore, provisions for basic necessities like food, fuel, housing material, etc., are made from the forest produce in this forest based tribal economy. Large percentage of tribals living close to forest areas constitute the most disadvantaged section of society based on per capita income, literacy rate, health status and lack of access to basic amenities.” Statistical Profile Of Scheduled Tribes In India 2013

A close analysis of tribal societies in remote villages or close to forest will give one a clear understanding that they are going through a civilizational process, which is in a rapid transition from hunter-gatherer towards agriculture. Somewhere midway between the two stages. They never stored , they enjoyed the bounty of nature and thrived merrily. But today the resource paradigm has shifted and the reduction in forest density coupled with population growth and mining led displacement have put greater pressure on agriculture practices. Despite being in the hilly areas , closer to forest , tropical rain areas , most of the tribal India still doesn’t have water for a second crop. All their economic activity revolves around forest produces and agri products of the Kharif season.

While their region pays the price of maintaining ecological balance and maintaining the forest cover. They remain idle for most of the year and live in some of the most challenged circumstances. They lack the right integral education to ensure productivity of their available resources round the year. Eternity or sustainability of socio – cultural – economic utility is a function of right education. Given the lacklustre in education and capacity building , they don’t remain much useful for rest of the society and end up being the cheapest labour in most circumstances.

The basic education required to enhance their productivity and sustainability of their resources is lacking in our system’s design. Very premise of being a tribal was culture driven , linked to their economic backwardness , geographical isolation and their primitive traits. While our present education system of scholastic curriculums is solving some of their core issues of mainstreaming them socially , But is it doing enough to bring them out of economic backwardness? Is the existent education and skill pattern linking them towards confidence of entrepreneurship? Today’s sarva shiksha abhiyan and skill development regime are not cohesive with their realities , their resources and their step by step succession towards self reliance and entrepreneurship. Their Journey from natural survivors (forestry , hunter-gatherer) to round the year agriculture is incomplete without organic education , tailor-made to their surroundings.

There is an urgent need in Tribal parts of India, to make their resources more productive in a sustainable way to enhance their social utility in relation to other parts of the country and globe, through education. Integral and holistic education can only usher in decentralised development of every individual , protect their cultural roots and facilitate improvement of their socio-economic conditions.

To ensure above, we need to design centres of Integral education for tribal areas , which can be run under public leadership and be supported by govt institutions. Such centres don’t need to be another set of brick and mortar structures. It can simply be an area of several display models organically set in the landscape of the geography. The local human resources can be roped in to deliver the local context based value addition methodology and catapult the entrepreneurship of hamlets.

Knowledge alone can lead such societies towards growth and self sufficiency. This knowledge does not need to be foreign , it should very subtly be contexed around the local aspirations and available resources. Under such a design and persistent efforts , we can easily achieve the United Nations Sustainable development goals in a structured and domestic method well in time.

A simple solution to the “educational needs for better living standards through maximum utilization of their existing resources” can be brought by incorporation of unique centres of integral development. Community feeling is still intact amongst the rural tribals. These centres can be run be by villagers in community model on community land under the aegis of their traditional leadership systems. These centres can incorporate live lessons on all aspects of life , economy and culture. While men and women can participate and contribute to peer learning on different matters , children can observe and learn several finer elements of their habitat’s economic potential in their free times. Governments and different departments can perform the role of facilitator for this centre.

The core elements to be displayed and taught in such open air centres can be , but not limited to :

“Forest produce , Minor forest produce , Medicinal plants , Aromatic plants , Bamboo culture , Agriculture , Waste land / dry land practices , Horticulture , Animal husbandry , Fishery , Honey , Nursery / Seed bank , Govigyan , Compost (From forest waste and animal waste) , Silk production (Rearing / Reeling / Weaving / Painting) , NRM (Natural resource management) , Processing , Packaging , Pottery , Wood work , Non farm enterprises , Supply chain / Storage , Bank / Market linkage , Equipment and resource sharing , Health and wellness , Ayurveda and traditional medicines , Personal/Social contingency management , Relevant govt schemes”

Such education system facilitated by government at village level , where society takes the leadership and performs the value addition activities for its own resources will make them rise to their fullest potential. This education will be integral to their resources , needs , tradition and the external challenges they face as a community. Community efforts for peer motivation towards health and wellness , greater crop intensity , enhanced utilization of allied resources , greater engagement in productive activities will definitely yield in entrepreneurship. Effective implementation of social aspirations through social participation and education will make achievement of sustainable development goals real , inclusive and lasting in this last mile of India.

-- Capt. Kumar Devashish

(A learner of socio-economic development and Agent of Change)

अविरल,निश्छल,स्नेहिल स्वप्न सा ,
जीवन पथ यह प्राण  सेतु का।
कल कल बहते समय सिंधु पर ,
पथिक कहो तुमने क्या देखा ?

जगते -सोते और सदा सुषुप्त ,
तन्द्रा देखी , जागृति को देखा। 
आँख खोलते अलसाये जन ,
अलसाते से नायक देखा। 

कृषक, मेघ और धरती का ,
पुष्प पल्लवित आँगन देखा। 
और बाड का अँधेरे में ,
फसलों का चरना भी देखा। 

श्रम का सृजन तिरस्कृत होता,
बाजारों का सजना देखा। 
भाव , मूल्य और आदर्शों का,
बीच हाट में रोना देखा। 

सत्य सदा एकाकी ठहरा ,
और झूठ का मेला देखा। 
जीवन तेरे पग पग हमने ,
दिन दोपहरी अँधेरा देखा।  

The Last Man and Decaying Democracies !!

Since the onset of civilization and ensued thought based evolution , mankind is struggling  for resolution of "The Last man syndrome".  Yet Mankind has been witness to its own civilizational decay by creating several Last Men in its pursuits of more and more for some. Despite huge emphasis and impetus to alleviate the Last Man , Today's democracies and other parallel governance models are struggling hard to write a history of inclusive and integral growth.

Anything that is not integral , is difficult to be sustained. Inorganic approaches can help us bask in lies of utopian equality , but the reality lies far. For our conveniences we created ideas of Poverty lines and yet fail to even assist our major chunk of population to stay above same despite numerous inorganic approaches to achieve same. With the advent of technology and trickle down transmission of ideas and existence of fundamentals of virtual equality in our governance , The Last Man's life is further a saga of Agony. Where his ideas , concepts never seem to be meeting the promised minimum reality. The resultant gap of expectations , reality and efforts drive a deeper wedge of pain in the Last Man leading to a discontent , unsynchronized  society and result in decaying Democracies.

The dream of Global village and global villagers seem to be falling flat. Were the crusaders of global village another proponents of creating invisibile pipelines of wealth and brain drain?  Are we really succeeding in establishing  a value based sustainable world on the principles of Integral civilizational growth. Globalization is now helping us create Global Last Men in Africa , India and Middle East. Amidst the affluence of world , Haiti continues to be a socio-economic black hole.

The whole human civilization has to wake up to the challenge of "Inclusive and Integral socio-economic growth". We can not afford to have international shadow regions of abject socio-economic standards for long. The resultant chaos , conflict and upheavals will take all the shine off from our global perspective and vision. The international conflicts of plunder , terrorism , refugee crisis , melting down economies , apathy towards custodians of governance can all be rooted in one singular process of "Globalization of world for centralization of wealth. "

The world and contemporary technology have definitely made technological , commercial , economic transfer through nations seamless. The transfer of socio- cultural values have also succeeded in crossing boundaries with the ease of channel changing. The newer transportation and visa regimes have made it easier for men to travel far and beyond his origins. With all these changes happening , "The issue of Last Man" has gone global. The Last Man in the jungles of Sahara is subject to the actions and reactions of Silicon valley. The global economic land scape makes him either a victor or victim of International rally for development.

The fast and furious wheel of these ultra economic times have no or little room for poor , differently abled , the primitive tribes  or to sum up "The Last Man". The race of survival for fittest has grown murkier in days of quantitative valuation of Men and mankind.  There are lives lost in warfares resulting from greed , civilizational clashes , technological disasters  and industrial apathy. Everyday a new row of The Last Men are loosing hope and sustenance while the world has plunged into a race with itself.

More than the suffering itself , "The Last Man" finds no reasons to his sufferings and yet continues in the vicious cycle. The theosophies , the religions , the mystic too fail to offer any justification. Judaeo-Christian tradition says regarding suffering  "The meaninglessness of suffering, not the suffering, was the curse which has so far blanketed mankind[…] (GM, III, 28)"

What can be the solution ? How can we resolve this? Is the existence of Last Man an universal and eternal truth? No , as a living and thriving planet , we can not leave us to reasonless decay and despair. We must rise up to this challenge to deliver a better world everyday. The disease has grown big. We have to add value to every Human in this world in such a manner that every Man becomes important to contribute something . Unless and until we achieve this individual value addition , there will be the issue of last man and Mankind will be limited to stunted growth. "

A two way approach can help us solve our own issues: we need a combination of organic integral method as well as inorganic interventions to rid us of this.

Integral Organic Methods :

1. Value based education and training world wide. Value based policy making world wide with special reference to the marginal people.

2. Dynamic discourse and research upon individual and group traits for all possible mankind groups (Socio-economic , Religious , Racial , Geographic  etc).

3. Dynamic Identification of categories of Last men in micro and macro scenario.

4. Identification of steps to empower and add value to the Last men.

5. International program management under guidance of UN Bodies to incorporate above.

Inorganic Interventions :

1. Modern secular polities to be oriented by ideals and proponents of the “last man” thesis.

2. Immediate interventions and relief measures to safeguard basic needs of Last Men.

3. Short term and long term dynamically evolving measures for safeguarding and promoting  their sustenance needs .

4. Dynamic (not static) reservations , privileges for setting up convectional growth currents in particularly sensitive segments.

5. Making education a socially equitable exercise in societies. Bringing the complete society on one platform while imparting education.

How wisely someone had summed up Mankind's upwards dreams and downwards reality:

"People are keen to find life on Mars , Would not it be wise to save some lives on earth as well. "

Its time that democracy , polity and people by large understand the needs of "The Last Man" and the principles of all round happiness for a sustainable world.

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Meaning: 
May all become happy , May none fall ill |
May all see auspiciousness everywhere
May none ever feel sorrow |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Bol Bam - A journey of faith and surrender. (Sultanganj to Deoghar)- Shravan , 2011

It was raining heavily in Kolkata. The streets were filled with knee deep waters. I had filled in my one sided bag with a pair of saffron colored T-Shirt and shorts and the other pair I had already donned. I was still reluctant in spirit and the rain was proving to be another dampener in my will to perform a "kaanwar yatra" to lord Shiva in Baidyanath Dham. I never had a history of being religious in my deeds , though I had always loved visiting temples (mostly limited to gazing at Gods and Goddesses and leaving them to think how they lead my way) and watching Ganges since my childhood. Ganges always held a strange key to peace and tranquility in my inner self. May be the water element in me was incomplete , yearning for more and more proximity to water bodies.

A Mariner by profession , who had crossed oceans to make it to newer continents and deliver a service totally based on logic , accuracy and no room for error. Hardly did it give any scope for conservatism and religious showmanship. But today I was dressed in all saffron and was about to start an unknown journey for which I had no experience and no knowledge. Being a traveler , One belief was there that , the roads once taken and frequent appraisals always lead to destination.

"Taxi" - I yelled , amidst the rain on the sides of a Behala pavement.The black yellow tattered behemoth halted with the shrieks of its brakes. "Howrah" ? The taximan opened the rear door with a sense of respect and earnestness , a totally non routine behavior from taximen in kolkata. He said - Bam - sit down quickly else you will get wet. I didnt delay a second and boarded the taxi to Howrah. Today I was christened as "Bam" , a mixed feeling of irritation and preliminary surrender started. Irritation because I had always abhorred religious showmanship and preliminary surrender because I had started accepting that things will be this way only on this display of religion.

We reached Howarh , the taxi man also from Bihar , he had left Chhapra some 30 yrs back to make a living in Kolkata and now in his fifties he was dedicated to making his children study well. Only 4 days were left for shravan to complete and I was the lone saffron clad traveler at howrah station. I got a jolt , I had thought that I would be able to find few co passengers to babadham who could guide me during the passage. Just minutes before the train arrived , I saw a fair , frail and simple man walking down the platform from other end wearing the kaanwariya dress and holding a kaanwar. I felt elated that at last I have someone who is also on my path and who could be my company during the way. The importance of company , team and guide on a mission was getting clearer to me. I approached the gentleman and asked "Are you heading for babadham"? I know it was stupid to ask , but I didnt find anything suitable to start a conversation. He looked at me with disdain and surprise and answered "Yes".

I stubbornly put forward few more introductory questions and reached to asking his name.All he told me was that he was "Shankar" and a "Tinker" by profession , he basically come from Sitamarhi and has been working in Kolkata for past 15 yrs. The train was approaching. Howrah Jamalpur express , meandering on the tracks like a huge anaconda with headlights on forehead on that rainy night. I told him , rather urged him that will it be alright with him if I catch up with him in Sultanganj. He just answered "Bol Bam" and moved to his coach. Shankar and myself parted our ways to our respective coaches.

Part 2- The Holy Dip : Bol Bam - A journey of faith and surrender. (Sultanganj to Deoghar)- Shravan , 2011.

The holy dip.

My cell phone was blaring at its best , the alarm was ringing , my alertness to wake up held me up from putting it on snooze. I woke up well , looking out , I was still to reach sultanganj. I got freshened up fast and came back to my favourite pastime during student days , standing at the entrance of the coach and watching the "sujalam , sufalam" landscape outside. The foliage , the unorganized small farm plots were speaking the untold story of Farmer's toil in Bihar. My mind was still fixated to find the station board which read "Sultanganj" and then to find "Shankar".

The train halted with ease and I disembarked with my one sided saffron bag and my minimal belongings on any travel in my life. The station was full of kanwariyaas and the chant of Bol Bam was filled in the air. I was looking for "Shankar" , I saw him far ahead of me , closer to the exit. Once I thought that my request to him to meet at Sultanganj was in vain , perhaps he didnt care my company. But in other moment I thought he wasnt there to give me company , rather on a mission with only vision that was to meet "Shiva" at Baidyanath dham.

I followed him up , he was about to board an auto ricksaw which would take him to Ganga ghat. I called him up "Shankar ji". He looked at me and smilingly said - Come come , where have you been. The ricksaw left for Ganga ghat. I didnt speak to him much this time. The routine discussion of the train being on time and subsequent relief was only think we talked.

The ricksaw dropped us at Ghat Road. From here the journey was to begin. The air was filled with chants of "Bol bam". Men , women of all ages and youngsters alike thronged the road leading to Ganges. We started following the crowd to the Ghat. I didnt have any kaanwar with me. I asked "Shankar" if we could take a detour and buy a kaanwar for me. He smiled with strange look , as if he has got an uncalled for companion, but agreed. I bought a kaanwar and Shankar did good bargain for me and also advised me that during mela one should be very cautious as shopkeepers quote twice to thrice for everything compared to routine days. I nodded in agreement and appreciated his concern and advice.

By now we were close to Ganges. Ganges , the mother was in full of her might. Lots of devotees were taking dips within the safe area segregated using bamboos by authorities. I asked Shankar to go ahead and take his dip while I would watch his belongings. I sat down on a wooden cot and started looking at the people , their faith , Ganges the mother , holy dip and their vows. Ganges didnt seem like a river full of water , rather I felt she was full of culture , tradition , wishes , aspirations and above all life and for ages she had been doing this incessantly. Yes , Ganges seemed truly the carrier of culture and the people were waist to chest deep in her embrace and taking turns to make absolute dips and getting their bliss of culture and belief in every dip. In the meantime Shankar arrived and asked "Go and have a bath and then we will go for "Vows" and pick up water". I took out my thin towel (usually called Gamcchha) and entered Ganges. The water was chemically the same we find world wide. But the emotions , the reverence , the conditioning was making it as if I was treading a path into flow of divinity. With every step I chanted "Shiva" "Shiva". I could imagine how much Bhagirath would have struggled to bring her from Gangotri. How Ganges would have found her initial flow down the hills , chirruping and playing the best of ragas of flow in the hills. How she would have found maturity in the plains of uttar pradesh and Bihar and nurtured civilizations on both of its banks. How she would have aged whilst in Bengal and embraced a huge landmass and distributed all she had to her distributaries and met the Ocean at Gangasagar.

"Jahanvi" was the name given to her in Sultanganj. The temple of Ajgaivinath stood tall reminding the ancient unwritten history where Ganga on her first descent to earth irked "Rishi Jahnu's" meditation with her torrential waters. Jahnu out of rage seized Ganges by his curse. But the determined Bhagirath performed penance and later Jahnu released Ganges, and thus she was named "Jahanvi".

I took three dips , and came back to Shankar. He had already arranged for flowers and a priest for us to perform the "vow" to take the Ganges water to Lord Shiva in DeoGhar. We came back again to the river. Standing inside the water , the priest started chanting in samskrit , a vow , which starts with taking your name , gotra and keeping the world , the priest and lord in testimony that One will fulfill the promised. The priest's pronunciation of samskrit was causing grief to my ears. My little reading fluency of samskrit and my good luck of being in company of some great samskrit scholars during my childhood had always taught me to keep samskrit in high esteem. After the vow , Our Kaanwar was ready with two urns filled with the Ganges water dedicated to Lord "Shiva". Bam , Bam , Bol Bam. A loud and clear call to the five elements within that the journey has begun. "Om namah Shivay" , It seemed as if the marathon of divinity was beginning from within. Where all is devoted unto lord , where there is no me , Just my Shiva and his Bams. I could notice a strange surrender in the people. Shiva was becoming the beginning and the destination both. Shankar looked towards me and asked "Shall we start"?. I replied "Yes, Namah Shivay".

Part 3 : The humble surrender - Bol Bam - A journey of faith and surrender. (Sultanganj to Deoghar)- Shravan , 2011.

It was almost 9 am , the chants of "Bol bam" were getting intensified. Shankar and me set forth our journey to Baidyanath dham, holding our one sided bag and the kaanwar filled with two urns of Ganges water. Shankar's steps were too poised and his scant talks gave me a feel of his sense of dedication. I was frolicking , my steps were fervent and my inquisitiveness was definitely making me look like a novice. But that was what I was. My rampant imagination , my child like earnestness to meet "Shiva" and my conclusive nature of concluding any start as a prelude to completion was making me buoyant with the jubilation of the rendezvous. Shankar advised me to be slow and walk on the raw alleys of the road. Apart from his instructions , he restricted himself to nodding yes to my questions or answering with bol bam.

We kept on walking , bare feet. It was about an hour before noon and the sun has come up in its full might by now. Shining sun after rains scorches worst. The concrete and tar of the road was pretty hot by now. My feet had started feeling the heat. But Shankar's steps were steady , as if someone has crafted a robot who knows how to walk steadily for stretches. I blamed it to my comfort days and my habit of wearing shoes most of the times. Nothing was going to give me relief. I needed a break , a break to sit for some time and cool my heels. I knew that Shankar would not agree for a break so early and If I had asked him , he would have stopped with some strange smile and that would have left me embarrassed. There was another possibility too that he would have advised me that you take a break while I carry on and we meet at some future point. Totally unaware of the route , I didnt want to loose Shankar and his mystic smile was also something I wasnt ready for. I kept on walking in tandem with him.

After another hour , he asked "Looks like you need a break"? We have almost covered some 15 kms of our 105 km journey. His question came as an intrigue to me. I said If you too need , we must break. We finally agreed that we must break for an hour , have some water and take some rest. The rest was a real respite , we drank copious amounts of local brands of mineral water sold at exorbitant prices on the roadside. The shop keeper offered us a wooden cot to sit down. There were hangers made to hang the kaanwar , so that the kaanwar doesnt get soiled and is kept away from animals or any other impurities. Every few minutes I was having a look at my kaanwar to make sure it was safe and not mistaken by any one else as theirs. After all , all over India during travels I had learnt the importance of the quote "Passengers must take care of their belongings". Shankar noticed my concern and told not to worry that in this stretch of Shiva nothing unwanted happens.

It had been just 15-20 mins and Shankar was getting ready to restart. This time I decided to open up and asked him why dont we wait for some more time and make a plan. "Plan" ?? what plan do you want to make - Shankar asked. I said plan that how we walk , how long we walk and how long we stop and when we reach? He said that he only knows to walk and he has never planned it and has been meeting "Shiva" in shravan for last 7 years. I knew that my mariner's habit of appraisal , planning , execution and monitoring was an overkill in this place , but still I presented a plan unilaterally. Shankar ji , I said , we will walk for 2 hrs and then take rest for an hour , and during night we must sleep for 3 hours atleast. If we perform this religiously we will be covering 35-42kms per day with an average speed of 5-6km/hr. To this , Shankar gave a lost look and said "Let us start".

Soon , we were walking downstream the caravan of people. "Bol bam" all around. Kaanwars of various shapes and sizes. Some one having kaanwars with lots of bells and at times it gave an impression that a herd of belled cows are coming from behind. Some people had huge kaanwars and a group of people were carrying it together , while an equal number of people walked in stand by. The sun was getting brighter and the soil was getting hot like embers. I was trying to focus on Shiva and the beauty of Sunny day , the smell of the earth after rains , the autonomous caravans of people and most importantly the devotional fervour. But each single step was getting difficult. I could feel that my feet were burning and every stone or pebble which came below my feet was trying to puncture my heated feet. The more I tried avoiding the pebbles , the more my feet landed on them. My personal stamina which was never a hit in physical work was getting tested. My faith , which has always been secondary to logic and universalism was trying to make and elephant push and kept me walking.

Another 2 hrs were about to pass , we had walked pretty steadily , at a higher pace than the average folks. By now I felt blisters had come up in both my feet. Never used to bare feet walking and that too on a hot day upon a road full of stones and pebbles. Still we continued , There was a flat brook infront of us and it was carrying rain water of a fresh rain from some distant place. I could see some sharp stones on the brook bed. We had to cross it. I was at my cautious best that the stones on the brook bed dont damage the blisters , but to no help. The blisters were ruptured and the brook water got into it. The instant pain was not as much ferocious as was the thought that what next? Is my faith and capacity at test? There is still a long long way to go. I had seen first aid centers set up by volunteers and businessmen for charity. The worst were the scenes when people who had become incapable to carry out their walk further taking vehicles to Baidyanath dham. I didnt want to loose , at least not to my Lord. I had taken vow. What about my initial hubris and commitment. I started limping in the brook. In the mean time a faster moving from behind told me to get aside : Puncture bam , Side bam!

After crossing the brook , we stopped at a shop , sat down on a wooden cot. My eyes were almost wet , and my spirit aghast. I showed my ruptured and remaining blisters to Shankar. This time he looked empathizing. He said , it looks serious and asked me to wash it thoroughly. I told him I dont want to be a loser. I have to meet "Baba". He told me , dont you worry, you will meet baba. We will make a plan and walk for an hour and then stop for 15 mins. We will not walk for long stretches. I saw care and extreme sympathy in his eyes. His words made me melt and I almost pleaded "Shankar ji" I would need your help and guidance. Shankar smiled and this time It was a friendly smile and said "Dont worry I will pull you up". I closed my eyes and laid down on the cot and remembered "Shiva" as the lord who loves simplicity , who discards all duplicity , who is wilder than wild and weirder than weird. I recited all the "Shiva mantras" I knew mentally and surrendered to him. I surrendered and accepted with all my senses that "Its Shiva's journey and I surrender its completion unto his wishes". I surrendered my wish , my desire , my power , my energy , my entity unto Shiva - Oh Lord , If falling is my nature then please make rising my destiny.

Part 4 : Transit to Shiva - Bol Bam - A journey of faith and surrender. (Sultanganj to Deoghar)- Shravan , 2011.

The Sky was getting amber in color and the foliage was playing hide and seek with sunlight. Its been almost an hour of walking on this stretch. We were close to some village and lots of loud speakers were at work with Bhojpuri (folk) songs of Shiva playing loud. The lyrics bore absolute disconnect with the traditional Shiva folk songs. The ones being played had high intensity beats , enough of voice and music editing but were extremely simple in language and understanding. I was almost dragging my feet for taking every step. I could see Shankar almost 500-600 metres ahead of me at the turn of the road. We had finally agreed that he would make a stop on roadside and I would keep walking and meet him afterwards. We would carry out refreshment and lemon drinks together and then restart together.

I could see young boys walking fast , chanting their slogans "bol bam ka nara hai, baba ek sahara hai...". By this time I had started getting a good idea about the practices and traditions followed in this yatra. The "Dak Bams" were the real heroes. People were running along with Dak Bams to give them a sip or two of water. Dak bams were the kaanwariyas who had vowed to meet Shiva and perform his Abhishek within 24 hours of lifting their "Holy water". They didnt carry kaanwars , then hanged their bottles on their backs , they had white dress. They would not eat , sleep , rest during their non stop run to "Shiva". They would only take water during the 105 km stretch and that too some unknown passerby would offer it to them while being on relay. I didnt know what was the source of their energy and more than that it was incomprehensible for me to understand the strength of their faith. All the kaanwariyas and the local population gave them way , as if they carried a straight courier to Lord and nothing should come in their way , and if something should come , then it should be along and to their succour.

The twilight was setting in , shadows getting longer and longer. The cow herds were making their usual call to their colleagues and heading back to their shelters. The manual generators were giving ample diesel smoke and enough light to mark the roads. Shankar was not to be seen anywhere ahead. My body has forgotten the feelings of pain , blisters and tiredness , I was using my surrendered will and tattered feet to walk ahead. Every step now was like a music where there was pain , there was will , there was twilight , there was milieu and there was a human chain from beginning to end of the path chanting Shiva and Bol bam. The weather was getting cooler , the wind from west was playing its best lyrics of devotion and tranquil.

Shankar was waiting for me at a roadside restaurant. He waved at me , sitting cross legged on the cot , biscuits and tea served in front of him. I parked my kaanwar , washed my hands , feet and face and rushed for the tea. I realized that how helpful is a warm drink when you are stressed out physically. Shankar asked - How had it been. I replied," Just the way it should have been". It was almost 8 pm , Shankar said that we should take rest for next 4 hours and restart at midnight , as it would be cool and we must try to cover as much as we could. I nodded in yes , we ordered food. Chapati , pulses and potato was only eatables available at the roadside restaurant. Government has fixed the rates for eatables during the yatra. The restaurant menu read the food items and their govt rated prices. I was admiring the govt efforts , that how deeply the it cares for people. Most of the people on this yatra didnt belong to affluent classes of the society. They were mostly peasants , masons , small time village entrepreneurs , some enthusiasts , some under compulsion of some family vow , and few richer people. The richer people had their food arrangements and other facilities carried along in vehicles , with drivers driving upto their each planned stoppages and waiting for them. While I was lost in appreciation of the govt efforts of price fixation , the food arrived. The very appearance of food made me realize that our people would ever outsmart any govt effort. They had made huge quality compromises in the food preparation. Perhaps they were sure that if they complied with price norms , there wouldnt be any quality issue. Not a food freak , I finished my meal. Now it was time to sleep. We rented two wooden cots without any bedding provision and resigned to sleep under open sky at earliest.

Not even an hour had passed that it started raining. I woke up to see Shankar pulling up a huge plastic sheet and covering himself. I enquired if he had another , he said yes and gave me one too. I enveloped myself completely inside that plastic sheet and made it as water tight as I can by tucking its ends below my body. The desire and need to sleep was surpassing the fine drumming noise of water droplets on the plastic sheet. Unbelievably , But I slept in rain on a wooden cot with a plastic cover over me and succeeded.

"Dev , Get up and we must make a move" , Shankar was shaking me up. I got up and took little time to resume the yatra. It was still drizzling. We had made temporary rain coat of the plastic sheet and tucked its ends around the waist. We were walking , walking past the dark , semi lit and lit. Unknown and wet expanse of land , filled with the human chain. The air was heaving "Bol bam" in its every twist , the drizzle was setting a pretext to the larger narratives of Shiva's proximity with water. The people short and tall , black and white , thin and thick , rich and poor were all united by the gravity of one goal , which was pulling them across brooks , jungles , hillocks and folklands. The bewilderment of faith and logic started their riot again. By now , they had found some harmony and some co-existence was seemingly possible. Coming from nothing and going back to nothing. Isnt the mirage of life interesting and ever enlightening. Almost 6 octas of the sky was covered with clouds. A few stars could be noticed twinkling. The hillock ahead gave a narrow semi built stony passage for kaanwarias. I asked Shankar, "Is Shiva eternal" ? or are we just chasing our faiths and attempting some unknown self satisfaction and hoarding of punya. Shankar answered "Shiva is the one who has no beginning and no end". He closed this discussion with one single statement. But I was still not convinced , I needed to work my brain , primarily out of habit. Energy was the only aspect of reality which never had a beginning and no end. It stays , just getting transformed. Is Energy "Shiva"? Or Is "Shiva" , source of all energy. I was feeling jubilant , as if pondering on shiva and chanting his mantras were making me so focused as I had never been in my life. I didnt know anything else , I didnt remember anything else , All I knew was my way , my Shiva and his thoughts. How simple life suddenly becomes , so focused , so oriented , so demanding yet so simple. Eternity seeps into every thought , every breath becomes a rigvedic recitation , consciousness heightens beyond the senses. And the distance between "Shiva" and me was contracting , making the unison closer.

Just one chant was reverberating in my mind :
Shivoham Shivoham Shivaswarupoham
Nityoham shuddhoham buddhoham muktoham
Nityoham shuddhoham buddhoham muktoham
Shivoham Shivoham Shivaswarupoham

“I am Shiva (the pure unbounded consciousness). I am the unbounded consciousness. I am the very form of the unbounded consciousness.
I am eternal. I am pure. I am intelligent. I am free.
I am eternal. I am pure. I am intelligent. I am free.
I am Shiva (the pure unbounded consciousness). I am the unbounded consciousness. I am the very form of the unbounded consciousness.”

I kept on thinking and discussing "Shiva" , the time and the path elapsed , making me closer and closer to him with passing time. Whole day we continued our walk and covered handsome distances despite my odds.

Part 5 - The Shiva Embrace (Meeting Shiva) - Bol Bam - A journey of faith and surrender. (Sultanganj to Deoghar)- Shravan , 2011.

"You are welcome to Babanagri" , read the huge bills put up by Jharkhand government and business concerns. We had entered Deoghar , Shankar steadily walked and I continued out of commitment and some unknown heavenly intervention. We had passed through hills and rivers last night. Bhulbhulaiya river , Goryari and kalkatia had been been our last halts. This was 3rd day and almost 10 am. We had made it to Babanagri , The signboard read Bhutbangla. There were long queues built up with bamboo arrangements for kaanwarias to queue up before they could perform their ultimate libation. To our utter surprise all the queues were empty. We kept on walking straight. Elderly ladies from civilized and devout background flocked the roadsides stood with warm water containers in their hands and sprinkled the water in our feet. In was another wordly feeling. Both physically and emotionally. I felt like falling in the ladies's feet and say "Mother why are you doing this". But they were doing it to the cause , not to the person. From Darshaniya we proceeded to Shiv Ganga , Every breath , every word and every listening was only "Bol bam" now. The essence of Shiva had immersed in every living and non - living thing in Deoghar.

Shiv Ganga seemed like a centuries old pond. The stagnant water was serene and had a tinge of greenery and lots of flowers and leaves floating on the surface. I looked at Shankar and murmured "Shankar ji, we arrived". He smiled at me and said "Yes , Bhole Bhandari is great and always kind". Lets take a dip in Shiv ganga and get ready for Darshan. We arranged for a priest. Carried out some mandatory ritual , took dip and bathed in Shiv Ganga. It is said that Shiv ganga is a miniature of Ganga and Ravana , the great Shiva devotee had created it to cleanse himself before touching the Shiva Lingam. We changed our gear to a new one , bought flowers and vilva leaves and moved under the direction of the priest towards the temple.

There was no much crowd. It was one of the leanest periods to reasons unknown and incomprehensible.Now I was no more mundane , I was extracting eternal ecstasy in every step I took. Shiva was the sole motive and sole mover. My eyes were covered with a slight layer of tears , may be as a veil that I should not see anything else than Shiva henceforth. Or may be that all this was seeming so unreal. I was amazed of his grace , I was amazed of his kindness , I was humbled with his leadership , I was mesmerized with his strength. I was drawn like an iron dust to an universal magnet. No force greater than this attraction existed , no thought deeper than Shiva survived , no words purer than Shiva emanated , no existence other than Shiva remained.

"Bol bam" , I was standing right in front of the Baidyanath temple. The bells were ringing in a frenzy. The space was reverberating with chants of Shiva. I entered the temple , seizing every moment as it should never pass. I was crossing the limits of time , living lives in every moment. There were no more chants of Shiva on my mind , now every cell of my existence was singing "Shiva". A state of perfect harmony was established. I was standing just beside my Lord. Shiva was all around in the form of energy , in form of speech , in form of hearing , in form of breath , in form of space , in form of states of material , and in the form of Lingam. The verses of Rudrashtakam were automatically rhyming on my lips. The whole philosophy of life was merged in a moment. Dharma , Artha , Kaama had so subtly merged into this momentary Moksha. The moment was frozen , perennial flow of tears , as if I was meeting someone from whom I was separated and the wound of separation needed the ointment of tears. My feeling of completeness , my sense of divinity , my rhetorics of dharma , All were in fruition in that moment. I sat down facing Shiva , quiet and transcendentally communicating with him , the omni present. But I was not communicating in terms of words or ideas or thoughts. All was getting from me to him unspoken , unthought , unfelt. It was beyond my comprehension what was happening. In that rapt surrender and attachment , where one was beyond the world , Shiva was smiling with me at Baidyanath Dham. My existence was in his embrace and amassing nectars of life and devotion unexplained. Shankar tapped my shoulder and asked "Dev , where are you?"

Namah Shivay !!

Phoenix : The incomplete journey.

    PHOENIX

“If falling is your nature , then rising is your destiny.” Man is constantly vulnerable to falls, slips and trips during his eternal sojourn of success, peace , self realization and union with the supreme. Thankful should be the beings to whom god has endowed the ability to recognize such slips. There are several forces within a man which constantly prevent the soul from rising, i.e. anger , lust , pride , attachment, greed and so on. The cage with iron rods of such attributes suffocate the evolving spirits. The soul yearns for freedom , the soul time and again pines to be pure. Thus starts a struggle , called the battle of senses and enlightenment. Knowingly or unknowingly man takes part in this seemingly endless struggle. The apparent signs of this struggle are- absence of contentment even after several achievements, solitude amidst the crowds, searching extra power from within to do something wrong, doing something good spontaneously and so on.

This is the struggle which is most revered and which leads to self realization. This struggle breaks the mental bonds and crosses all limitations to make one feel integral with supreme.

I failed! I lost! I couldn’t perform! This world is scary! I wish I was dead! My life has no meaning! These are few of the commonest phrases one hears from pretty nice and capable people in this world. But why do they speak so ?? What makes them so hasty in making such conclusions so fast about life ? Moreover why to conclude a personality , why to restrict a life , what could be the need to mentally stop the process of self development so abruptly. Something has definitely gone amiss . For sure , the contingency system within has had a big blow. Something has seriously gone wrong within the combination of mind, body , heart and soul. The weaknesses, fears and loop holes have become larger than life . Even taking a step becomes pathetic , life seems a saga of pain and one eventually feels like a living corpse or a dying man.

But then most of the people are faced by a question – What  Now ?

Lost in the bewilderment of situation, extremely sluggish in any approach, the soul

Softly pats you and ask – Are you there?

And what one says totally depends on what one is made of.

A quote says-----

“ A hammer shatters the glass,

        Whereas same forges the steel.

So, depends what you are made of

      Glass or Steel ?

The soul is just looking for affirmation from you. Just one  ‘YES’, a soft ‘YES’. This becomes the most crucial moment of life when you decide to say ‘YES’ to life

Or to negate your existence by saying a brutal ‘NO’ or to neutralize your existence

By keeping quiet. The negation puts an end to the process of life, whereas silence makes you a wounded soldier in the battle field who has so badly surrendered that

He can’t even sigh when he is trampled by enemies.

There is no other way than saying “Yes to Life”. Just a gentle “Yes”, a tender  “Yes” a silent “Yes” the “Yes” which is beyond the decibels of audiometry .

There does it begin. The soul takes over to disaster management.

     Firstly it says you to sleep. Sleep like weary traveler. If there is no sleep, there would not be an awakening. The mind, the body , the heart sleep while the soul watches your beauty. Analyses You for the present situation. As soon as the soul

Feels that you are showing some sign of life within , slightest indication to redress,

Weakest shiver of resurrection, It starts talking  to your heart and there the healing begins, all under the sole aeges of the drop of divinity, your soul.

The heart starts chanting the “Mantra” I am alive million times . Still the body and mind do not respond. It could be hours, days or months before the mind and body respond. In the mean time the acquaintance of heart with soul gets deeper and deeper. The heart with its every beat repeats the lesson of life.

The mind battles with all its negativity to decline all that heart has to say But the beats go on and on. Hammering  ‘I AM ALIVE’ in the abysses of mind. Sooner or later the mind accepts yes the beats are real and the body is alive. There the Body, Heart , Mind and Soul celebrate the spirit of life and brief each other.

And Life springs , a new chapter , a new episode ....