I enjoyed it... thoroughly witty and eloquent... > public correspondents... > 8% Vedanta is added to every activity... > With him enters the other worldliness to the secular deal
and many more... Vonnegut style... ;) On 5/18/08, damodar prasad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > swamis. trade > > > 1 The last two weeks, TV houses were airing fun-filled, excitement > generating swami stories interlaced with events of crime, cheating, and > debauchery and of course with occasional comment on decadence of *sarkar > samvidanam*, public morality and people's ineptitude to differentiate the > good from the bad sanyasis. > > > > 2.Media, political establishments, public correspondents (a better term for > public intellectuals, b'coz they only eagerly correspond to the public > demand!) came down heavily on the *kalla swamis*. TV biters from the left > and right of spectrum while condemning the swamis paused a little, and then > erred. A conscious err to stress the point that "all swamis and sanyasis are > not bad" It is the santhosh madavan and his ilk that are the trouble-some > and urged the state machinery to deal them heavy-handedly. > > > > 3.The distinction made between the middle class swamis (upwardly mobile) > like santhosh madhavan and elitist swamimars (reputed & established) of the > spiritual industry is necessitated by the secularist ideal. > > > > 4.Swamis have a predominant role in India since a long time. They were > indeed an essential attachment to the political establishment. The ruling > class kneeled down in front of the swamis for wise words and in > reciprocation saffronites bestowed moral legitimacy to the worldly acts of > the rulers. > > > 5.Such a coexistence of the worldly and the other worldly continued perhaps > with occasional disruptions till the emergence of swami Vivekanandan > in 19thcentury. The idea of institutionalized swamihood with clearly > laid > objectives of Vedanta propagation, uplift of women, and mapping of a > national religion thus found a beginning in Vivekanadan's mission. It was > coeval with the beginnings of nationalist movement. > > (**An incisive and scholarly study of Swami Vivekanada's mssion was done by > late scholar and academic, Prof. Muralidharan. (Kala Vimrasam: Marxist > Manadandam). I cannot fully recollect the arguments in the study. Prof. > Muralidharan had outlined the historical and social conditions of mercantile > capitalism that made possible the emergence of Hindu nationalist missionary > activity) > > > > 6.Since then institutional forms of swamiship mushroomed. The scholarship > and spiritual zeal of vivekandan is perhaps missing but almost all the > institutional swamis tried mimicking Swami vivekandan. Even today, the > export quality, picture perfect orientalist are our swamis. > > > > 7.Swami trusts and institutions run on the principle of charity, > establishment of schools, hospitals, colleges and like VAT , an 8% Vedanta > is added to every activity. This means mixing reality show with spiritual > reawakening sessions. > > > > 8.State protection to swamiship is nothing new. Even the State tends to > prosecute sou-moto, critics for their writings questioning 'contemporary > spirituality'. The fourth-estate keeps mum on the issue but simultaneously > acclaim the Indians have a terrific argumentative tradition, which > accommodates anything. From the Beatles guru Maharishi Maesh Yogi (Indira > Gandhi connection) to Chandra Swami, we know the close connections btwn > political leadership and swamis. > > > > 9.Well, in direct contrast to above-mentioned swamis, some one can argue > that in 20 century we had seers like Ramana Mahrishi. > > > > 10. Yogis and seers like Ramana Maharishsi represent an elite class. The > aspirations of the rising middle-class never found expression in ramana > maharashi's vision. The seer to become a heavy-weight personality has to > touch on the lives of the dominant classes and engage with them on the > issues of everyday life. This would heighten the prestige of the swamis and > it is the first step towards institution building. Today, any one > transmigrating to swamihood first wishes to embody his vision in a network > of institution. > > > > 11. It is also true that there are lone spiritual practitioners in different > parts of Kerala who little bother to move from their localized existence. > > > > 12. Performing miracles were once integral part of being accepted as > Sanayasi. But what is understood as miracle is coterminous with the > sensibility of a particular period. > > > > 13. It is here the new kind of Swamis dislocate all received wisdom of the > miraculous. The new miracles are located in the context of life and economy > working on the speculative mode. > > > > 14. The aspiring middle and the political class are driving towards some > swamis b'coz of the fact that the acts they perform are *Phanatastic* and > beyond the mediocrities of present day imagination. > > > > 15. The deterministic world view has lost forever. Everything is momentary > and transient. Even a moment cannot be held together. Observe the major > business in which our middle and political class engage for instant > elevation. 1. Real estate 2. Security market 3. Mutual funds 4. Forward > buying 5. Contract killing 6.Reality show 7. Embedded reporting etc. etc. > > > > 16. All these task are speculative in nature and involves risks. But once > the risk is averted the mobility - upward is guaranteed. Upwardness ensures > a certainty in life at least for a short-term and also an added advantage of > social recognition. The social recognition also involves identification with > political leadership and executive authorities (Police & Bureaucrats). (In > Kerala, more than anything else, recognition in terms of the above is the > most sought after. Being formally invited to the function hosted by a > political leader denotes the 'network capital' of the journalists.) > > > > 17. Speculative ventures need counseling at a higher end so that deal goes > thru with minimum risks. Enter the Swamiji and his acts of the > miraculous. With > him enters the other worldliness to the secular deal. The possibility of > the other worldliness is that it functions on determined belief system where > everything has clear fixed meaning and hence nothing could go wrong. In this > realm of immaterialism, risk & uncertainty burst like a bubble. > > > > 18. But then the Government is really worried. Here is an "arbitrator" who > works parallel to the government and also uses governmental machinery for > fulfillment of objectives that too in a very efficient manner. > > > > 19. It is difficult to function parallel to the government on an individual > scale. A network of organization is pre-requisite to take on the government. > Though Sarkar wouldn't say that , swamis are also a problem like Maoists& > Anarchists- But sarkar knows how to deal with its secular enemies- Maoists/ > extremists. But dealing with a non-secular agency is a really really > difficlut & challenging task. > > > > 20. The non-secular agencies have succeeded where the government has failed. > Whether it is rehabilitation, education or health. The beneficiary of this > is the middle –class. > > > > 21. But santhosh madhavan and himal badaranand fialed b'coz they were too > much into secular concerns. When the secular precedes otherworldliness you > are doomed. The state swooped in. From the part of Sarakar, it is a threat > identified and checked at the right time or else it may start dictating > terms with the political leadership & executive. > > > > 22. But the existing and new swamis have a few lessons to learn: Other > worldly concerns should predominate. Secular concerns should follow it. If > it works on the contrary, loss is assured. > > > > 23. But then santhosh madhavans and badranandas brings in the deeds of > secular life to mix up with the concerns of otherworldliness corrupting the > sacred. Isn't that good? > > > While writing about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Kurt Vonnegut makes an > observation: "This new religion (which is not religion but a technique) > offers tremendous pleasure, opposes no existing attitudes, demands no > sacrifices or outward demonstration of virtue and is risk free. It will > sweep the middle class of the world as the planet dies- as the planet is > surely dying- of poisoned air and water." > > damodar prasad > > > > -- Regards Afthab Ellath --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
