ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः

श्रीरामचरित मानस के सौवें दोहे में गणेश जी के बारे में महत्वपूर्ण सूत्र उपलब्ध है। दोहा है-

मुनि अनुसासन गणपतिहि पूजेउ संभु भवानि ।

कोउ सुनि संसय करै जनि सुर अनादि जिय जानि ।।

अर्थात -

मुनियों की आज्ञा से शिव पार्वती ने विवाह पूर्व गणेश जी का पूजन किया। देवता अनादि हैं अतः कोई इस पर संशय न करे कि गणेश जी तो शिव के पुत्र हैं, तब वह उनके विवाह में कैसे उपस्थित हैं , कि पूजे गए ? इसी में गणेश का प्रतीक निहित है। इसलिए कि गण का अर्थ समूह है । देवमंडल में अष्ट वसु , एकादश रुद्र, 49 मरुत गण देवता हैं जो समूह में पूजे जाते हैं |इस अर्थ में गणेश समूह या समूहों के प्रमुख व्यक्ति का पद है। प्राचीन गणराज्यों में इसीलिए गणपति होते थे। शिव के साथ गणेश एक पृथक देवता भी हैं लेकिन व्यापक अर्थ में वे अनादि होकर हर काल और समाज में सर्वदा मौजूद हैं । शिव के विवाह के समय निश्चित ही तत्कालीन समाज में जो 'गणेश' रहे होंगें, स्वभावतः कार्य की सफलता के लिए उनकी पूजा की गई।

परिवार

गणेश जी क्यों मंगलमूर्ति हैं , इसका सार उनके परिवार में है।

महादेव उनके पिता हैं। जगतजननी पार्वती जैसी महिमामय नारी उनकी माँ हैं। बड़े भाई कार्तिकेय देवसेना के प्रमुख हैं। ऐश्वर्य की प्रतीक रिद्धि और सामर्थ्य की प्रतीक सिद्धि उनकी पत्नियां हैं। उनके दो पुत्रों में लाभ और क्षेम है। एक अप्राप्य की प्राप्ति कराता है। और दूसरा प्राप्य की रक्षा करता है। आशय है परिवार का प्रत्येक सदस्य लोक कल्याण में संलग्न है और प्रतीक है कि जिस परिवार में सभी अपने अपने कार्य में रत होकर सबका मंगल करने के लिए संकल्पित रहते हों , उसमें उसी प्रकार सुख , शांति और आनंद बरसता है जिस प्रकार गणेश जी के परिवार में।

आंनद के जन्मदाता श्रद्धा व विश्वास

रामचरितमानस में 'भवानीशंकरों वन्दे श्रद्धाविश्वासरूपिणों' कहकर शिव-पार्वती की वंदना की गई है। 

अर्थात -

माता श्रद्धा और पिता विश्वास के प्रतीक हैं। हर काम की सफलता के लिए श्रद्धा और विश्वास दोनों आवश्यक हैं । जहाँ ये दोनों हो, वहीं आनंद संभव है। गणेश जी इसीलिए मंगलमूर्ति और आनंद के दाता हैं क्योंकि उनका जन्म श्रद्धा और विश्वास से हुआ है। जिसके मूल में ये दोनों हो वह मोद यानी आनंद को पसंद करने वाला भी होगा और आनंद का प्रदाता भी होगा। ठीक उसी भांति जैसे गणेश जी हैं।

जीवन में सार और विस्तार

गणेश के जीवन से जुड़ी बहुमत कथा है।

कथा अनुसार जब पृथ्वी की परिक्रमा को लेकर बड़े भाई कार्तिकेय से प्रतिस्पर्धा हुई तब विद्यावान, गुणी, अति चतुर गणेश जी ने माता पिता की परिक्रमा करके जय प्राप्त की और शिवजी के वरदान से प्रथमपूज्य बने। इसका प्रतीक है कि जीवन को विस्तार को जानने के बजाय उसके सार को जानना अधिक महत्वपूर्ण है। हम सब सदा कार्तिकेय की तरह परिक्रमा करने निकल पड़ते हैं। यानी विस्तार में जानने के चक्कर में पिछड़ जाते हैं। मगर जो गणेशजी की तरह भावुक और बुद्धिमान होता है वह सार पर टिकता है। जो माता पिता को ही महत्व देता है वही हर जगह सबसे पहले पूजा जाता है।

जन गण मन गणनायक जय हो

गणेशजी जन जन के मन में रहते हैं और गण या गणों के नायक हैं। 

इस अर्थ में वे समूह, सामूहिकता और समूह शक्ति के प्रतीक हैं। वे समर्थ हैं क्योंकि उनके पास समूह या समूहों के जन - मन की मिली जुली ताकत है । जो सिखाती है कि जो समाज समूहशक्ति में विश्वास करता है, जो अपने नायक में निष्ठा रखता है, वह हर प्रकार के विघ्नों का नाश करके सर्वत्र मंगल की स्थापना में समर्थ हो जाता है। स्वाभाविक है गण शक्ति से परिपूर्ण नायक विशिष्ट अर्थात विनायक होता है ।

Source - Faridabad Bhaskar
Images - Google 

Chandrayaan-2

                      An unprecedented night that is forever etched in memories of many though didn’t yield expected success was in no way ungenerous. Can we infer that a day would come when people would be thronging to their tv sets in the middle of the night to witness ISRO that was on the verge of making history. That 69 seconds or last 2 km proved little more challenging than bargained for in no way makes Chandryaan-2 any small accomplishment in itself and should be rightfully hailed as a triumph.

                    The pessimist and the armchair intellectuals might try to run ISRO down, but we must stand resolute. They say ISRO has failed, let me articulate it, ISRO has achieved in this single mission what no one ever had. The success is exemplary, their endeavor to land on “moon” has created enthusiasm among Indians, ignited young minds, a whole new generation who would be prompted to take on the mettle.

                Chandrayaan 2, hence is a grand success, has made a nonparallel contribution to the Indian space program and will be remembered as a giant step, a learning exercise that will fuel India to take numero-uno space power in times to come.

Image Courtesy - Google 

The Oath of the Vayuputras by Amish Tripathi

                              The book 'The Oath Of The Vayuputras' is a work of fiction. It is the third and final installment of the Shiva Trilogy. Not many books(fiction) can sap your thoughts and have a long-lasting impact on a person's psyche even after it is read, but this book is a rarity. The incredibly talented author Amish has surpassed my expectations and woven a story laced with mythology and ancient history with such ingenuity, that leaves the reader mesmerized. To begin with, the story discussed the moral and ethical codes to run the society and the kingdoms in ancient times which were versatile and are relevant even today's society. The details with which certain ancient techniques are discussed are exemplary and sustains once interests in the book. I must confess, I wasn't too impressed with the second book of the series but is pleasantly surprised with 'The Oath Of The Vayuputras'. The in-depth explanation regarding the geographical locations of different kingdoms is heartening and demonstrates the efforts of the author to bring readers on the same page. 

“The distance between Evil and Good is a vast expanse in which many can exist without being either.” 

                              The story starts where it was left off in the second book, Shiva reached Panchvati with his entourage successfully despite the attempts on his life and met the Meluhan scientist and his friend Brahaspati who was believed to be assassinated by Nagas. As the story progresses, Brahaspati revealed the obsession of the Meluha state towards Somras despite its harmful side-effects on different states, ecology, and humanity. The Shiva realized that the elixir which was one of the magnificent inventions of its time has slowly become truly evil, and thus the necessity to stop its production for the larger good. Meanwhile, the deadly attack on Shiva was the handiwork of Daksha, the ruler of Meluha and Dilipa, Ayodhya ruler who combined their strength under the leadership of sage Brighu. As Shiva forged an alliance to take out the elixir, he was supported by Vasudevs, Vaishali, Panchvati, Lothal and finally Vayuputras of Pariha who provided him Pashupatiastra. As the final showdown between the two armies became inevitable, Daksha hired assassins from Egypt to eliminate Shiva by enticing him with the peace conference, however, Sati had to attend the conference due to an unforeseen turn of events and was assassinated despite her valiant struggle. Eventually, the wrath of Shiva destroyed Devagiri along with its many inhabitants while Kartik helped in rescuing scientists who could create Somras whenever needed in the future. 

                           Although the story weaved by the author touches history and mythology intricately, yet it is necessary to remember that it is a work of fiction and shouldn't get swayed by emotions. The story is loaded with numerous twists and turns and brings a satisfactory conclusion to the Shiva's journey giving us a narrative that the Gods of today were mere mortal men whose deeds transformed them into extraordinary humans with god-like traits. It is a thoroughly entertaining and refreshingly good book to read.

Dancing Muhammad's And Bano's Of China

               Dancing is forbidden in Islam and so is eating during the holy month of Ramzan(Ramadan), but in China, the individual choice to profess religion is increasingly being trampled by the authoritative regime. The Chinese authorities tirade against religious minorities isn't new, in the 1950s, the Tibetan annexation and subsequent execution of unarmed Buddhist civilians by PLA in the name of unification of Tibet with China have laid the foundation for future transgress on minority rights which only increased with time. The silence of the world community towards the unleashing of violence by the Chinese government further emboldened China. The world became a mute spectator of Chinese excesses towards its civilians is it 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre where more than 10000 pro-democracy students were butchered by PLA or recent crackdown on civilian protest in Hongkong. The world leaders who shamelessly supported and bargained with China for economical benefits is equally accountable for the crimes committed by the Chinese government.

                   The current obsession of the Chinese regime to target the majority Uighur population in Xinjiang province which is largely Muslim (Turkic Uyghurs) and the methods employed to 'civilize' or 're-educate' only finds parallel with 'Gulags' or 'concentration camps' established by Soviets or Nazis. The 90% Han Chinese ethnic majority distrust the ethnic and religious minorities and the one-party rule ensures the ethnic cleansing or subjugation through violent means. China suspicious of the ethnic Muslim community has suppressed the language and faith of its Muslim citizens. These minorities were purged of their mother tongues, forced to eat pork and renounce outward displays of Islam. To make matters worse, unprecedented measures are taken by authorities to re-educate or civilize Muslims by establishing detention camps. 

                    These camps were only recently acknowledged by Chinese which was earlier denied. It is difficult to put a number of people detained in these camps established in Xinjiang, but the State Department estimates it could be between 800,000 and 2 million Muslims that are detained since 2017. After initially denying the existence of the re-education camps, Beijing is now defending them as necessary to combat Islamist extremism and terrorism and termed them as re-education camps to civilize Muslims. Increasing assertive Han nationalism, 2009 riots in Xinjiang between Han ethnic majority and Uighur minorities and subsequent terrorist attacks by Uighurs on Chinese majority and importance of Xinjiang’s western location for launching President Xi Jinping's ambitious trillion-dollar Belt and Road global infrastructure project prompted the Chinese government to crack down on Muslim minority that inhabits the region. 

                   China's aggressive territorial claims and disputes with all its neighboring countries, refusal to accept the judgment of an international tribunal in The Hague (favoring the Philippines) and continuous South Chinese Sea island grab and militarization gives testimony to its scant respect for rule of law. The Chinese insatiable hunger for land and resources is astonishingly condemnable. The world leaders on their part, till now were inclined to appease China for multiple reasons while American addiction to rile Russian attempts to establish its cold war era prestige gives opportunity and space to China to throttle voices at home or abroad without any criticism. 

                                             Mosques locked out by Chinese authorities 

                  The massive human rights abuses carried out by the Chinese government against minorities finally received worldwide attention when the United Nations said it had credible evidence that over one million ethnic Uighur and other Muslims in China were being held against their will, and without trial in camps. What is strange and horribly upsetting is even when 22 European countries signed a letter recently to the United Nations Human Rights Council criticizing Chinese policies, there were 37 states, including Pakistan and other Muslim countries who came to the rescue of China and jointly signed a letter to the president of the Council praising China’s “contribution to the international human rights cause.” As long as the world doesn't unite and see beyond their selfish interests and raise their voice condemning the mistreatment of ethnic and religious minorities by China, and in this case, Uyghur Muslims, the Muhammad's and Bano's till then with have to continue to dance to Chinese tunes.

Image Courtesy - Google 

Video - Youtube