BENEATH THE BLAZING SUN BY DR. H N BAJAJ

It was hot and on the roads, and other than an intrepid traveller, the roads were largely empty. The cattle that were commonly seen were absent, and dogs seemed to have completely vanished. Not surprisingly, as we were traveling on NH 48, which connects Delhi to Jaipur, and it was the middle of the afternoon. We reached our destination, and being restless, a short walk brought me to a lovely cactus garden, which appeared to be thriving. I decided I would return the next morning, when it would be cooler.

Overnight, that cactus garden allowed two of its resident plants to bloom. They were simply fabulous. I sat on a rock, taking in the sight of the blooming species, called Echinopsis, which was stunning in its red topi. Its neighbour was also an Echinopsis, but with more flowers, and my hosts informed me that it was called the Easter Lily cactus. There were other cacti and plants, which were known to me, and you could say they were old friends. The Bunny Ears cactus, Yucca, Agave, the Golden ball cactus, and the Opuntia species have always welcomed me.

The fact that they thrive in the harsh heat is so encouraging and a reminder that Mother Nature never wastes. It's a lesson all of us could imbibe.

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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE RELEVANCE OF THE MAHATMA IN TODAY’S WORLD

October 02 or Gandhi Jayanti celebrates the birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. That day is celebrated globally as the International Day of Non-Violence as well. It stirs the question of the relevance of Gandhian ideas in a world beset by wars, authoritarianism, religious intolerance, pollution, climate change, and racism, all issues that plague our times. This is despite his devastatingly brutal demise on 30 January 1948, aged 78 at Birla House, New Delhi. Gandhi’s ideas are based on his vision of a just and equitable society and are worth a re-look. NON-VIOLENCE. Many would consider the Gandhian idea of non-violence or Ahimsa as redundant in a world armed to the teeth with chemical, biological, nuclear, and conventional weapons. Ahimsa , first propounded by the 24th Jain Tirthankara and ascetic Mahavira in the 6th century BCE, was a method employed by Gandhi to achieve political and social change. Gandhi believ...

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Hinduism, staunchly rooted in polytheism, envisages the Divine in both male and female forms. The Divine Devi takes many forms: as Parvati, She is married to Shiva and this union is held as the ideal. She is a benevolent Mother, devoted to her husband and her children. As Lakshmi, She is the wife of Vishnu and the Goddess of fortune. She is Saraswati, the wife of Brahma, and the Goddess of learning and music. Devi is manifest in all other Goddesses, as well as in village deities. As such Devi can be a generic name for any goddess, and to some she is known as The Great Goddess or Mahadevi. This is the female counterpart of Mahadeva. When the Devi manifests in Her gentle maternal manner called saumya, She becomes the ideal of all women. She is the Mother or Maa. It does not permit the Devi an identity separate from her husband. The unmarried form of Devi leads to an independent, fiercely untamed, and angry embodiment called the ugra form that battles the forces of evil. In doing so ...

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The cardinal figure in both the festival of Janmashtami and the Gita is the 8th avtar of Bhagwan Vishnu who is known to us as Lord Krishna; Janamashtami is a pan India festival that celebrates the birth of the Lord. The mythology behind Janmashtami is well known. Krishna, the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudev was born in prison, in Mathura. Its ruler, Kansa, had learnt that he would die at the hands of Devaki’s child. To obviate this, he imprisoned her and her husband, and their children were killed immediately after birth. On the night of the birth of Krishna, the prison guards fell asleep and Vasudev carried the divine baby across the Yamuna River to Vrindavan and left him in the care of Yashoda and Nanda. Krishna grew up as a cowherd and returned to Mathura to eliminate Kansa. The death of the powerful, but wicked Kansa signifies the triumph of righteousness over evil. Janmashtami is always celebrated with fervor and enthusiasm in the entire country. Temples and houses are decor...

Dr H N BAJAJ - A POLYMATH

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