I don’t close my eyes, I don’t cry my ears, I don’t have any imagination.
With open eyes, I should see laughter, I should look at the beautiful form.
Beautiful form – This is the truth, this is Shiva and only that is beautiful. Ever since I joined Times, journalists used to say – media is a watchdog. I said – it is a good word if we consider the meaning of dog, the best companion of humans. But if you mean – barking dog then that will not be our role. We do not want the media to be sarcasm on every issue all the time, because my connection with the hearts of the readers is that they want to fill themselves with joy and enthusiasm by reading newspapers everyday in India. So you would see that we feature every festival on our masthead as compared to other media. From just a few pictures. You must have seen this. So a new word was coined – Watch God. Not Just Watchdog. So you must have been seeing these two words on the editorial page above for a few weeks – Watch God, Watchdog. And dog means man’s best friend. So this is our media, it is a dog with men’s best friend. He sees God everywhere and manifests in Him seeing the highest vision everywhere.
How many of you have English as primary language and English as primary language? Raise your hands up. So those whose primary language is English are more here. Will try to use English more. The whole life of our family for three generations, it has been that when I was five years old, my grandfather and grandmother started to publish the highest literature of the country, in every language, in simple language. Go and don’t make any profit out of it. To increase the reach of great literature because the higher things are, the fewer people read them. In adolescence, know that it is called pop literature. As pop music is, so is pop literature. You should also know that you should read those books which are hundred years old. Pay special attention to the books which have been respected for a hundred years. Those who write popular literature also read the same books and write literature for today. I didn’t understand it.
When I joined the Times, the then editor Girilal Jain was 40 years older than me. He changed my vision, said – I have a big burden on me, very big. Because there are no research institutes, think tanks in India which are there in foreign countries. Here the newspapers are think tanks, research bodies. So a huge load is on my shoulders. I thought what are you saying? Said that today’s person does not have the ability to read more than the newspaper. He does not have the ability to read more than that, he has all the weight on the newspaper. Why would we also read more than newspapers in our teenage years – a little time magazine, news week. He said – these are very primary level magazines. You too listen to this. You find out what’s the highest available in your area. We are trying to take the two-day literature festival to crores of people through newspapers because crores of people do not read these books. But their summary can be conveyed to all of you, to the people of adolescence, through newspapers. That is our effort.
Among the upcoming programs, my eyes fell on two special programmes. One is- is there any contradiction between religion and country? After this there will be this session. So I understood that Modi ji has also told in a speech that religion and spirituality are different things. This can be added. This is the thing that connects everyone. Religion, spirituality and country, all these can be linked. Let us not say that the religious country is our spiritual nation. There is no contradiction in this. Moving away from the notes that we have brought, let us explain to you what is the meaning of spiritual education. It is very simple. What you study in school and college are physical sciences – physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology about the body, history – history of humans, history of some animals, history of planets. In history you will only find stories of the victories of kings, but this is a very small matter. Even while studying, ask the teachers, what are you teaching us, history? So only physical sciences are taught.
Pay a lot of attention to the word university, the knowledge of the universe is not given in the university. The university people have adopted a very big word, Universe, but what I am calling you to be a spiritual nation, it means to understand, imbibe and imbibe the invisible things. What are those invisible things that you can start studying from this age itself, because it will be taught in school and college. There the little things will be taught – just to make you a part of the flywheel that is on the job market. You just become an accountant, just become a salesman, just become a writer. You will not have complete development. Knowing the invisible science is a sign of a spiritual nation. Once you know this, then there is a contradiction between religion and country, it gets completely solved by this. Those invisible things are love. Love is not something to be seen. The study of love is an invisible science. Then study the sky. Why is the study of the sky important? Because He is full of Consciousness and Energy, Shiva and Shakti. She can’t even get upset because she is Sachchidanandaghan. It is so full of Shiva and Shakti that if you tap it, it enters you. You are Shiva, you are the beloved of Shiva, whose support do you seek?
I watch a lot of mythology and history shows. I remember a saying of a British historian. He once said – If you read Mahabharata and Ramayana as history, you will find it full of mythology. But if you read it like a legend, you will find history in it. So, while reading this, you will come to know that there is a confluence of both. In Ramayana and Maharabharat you find the focal point. When we were in 8th or 9th standard, the English teacher of St. Xavier’s School in Calcutta used to teach us the confluence of spirituality and literature. He had a special fondness for ornamentation and alliteration. He made us remember him at a young age without even trying. Raskhan was a poet of the 13th century. Let me present his poem, first explain the meaning – Gopis used to control Bal Gopal with love, with love. How? She used to say – come to my courtyard. Dance for me and I will give you a pot of butter. She used to control child Krishna with this love, but everyone else got lost in it.
Shesh, Ganesh, Mahesh, Dinesh, Sureshhu go on singing continuously.
Jahi Aadi, Anant Akhand, Achhed, Abhed Subed tell.
Narad se suk vyas ratain pachi haare tau puni na paaayen.
Then the daughters of Ahir will dance on buttermilk full of buttermilk.
You tell me whether it is literature or spirituality or a combination of both? Now I tell from a line of Guru Nanak ji that you are Saguna, you are Nirguna. Not that it’s for someone else. That thing is for you that is invoked in you.
Nirgun aap sagun bhi sohi.
Kaladhar Jin Sagli Mohi.
That’s why friends, you are the formless, you are the corporeal because Kabir has said:
The street of love is very narrow, two of you do not fit together.
When I was then there was no Hari, now Hari is there, I am not.
This is the principle of Advaita that all become one in the path of love. Love-street unites everyone. The future India is going to be a world leader by adopting spirituality and you are and will be a very important part of that. I am trying to make you aware of its establishment.
You all must have heard about the path of duty. Modi ji, the government has named Rajpath as duty path. The scriptures take you on top of your duty. We learned face to face from Dinkar ji in Veer Ras, at the age of 13-15. Because of the Jnanpith which was started, there used to be one or the other Jnanpith award winner in our house everyday. Among them were Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Mahasweta Devi, Kannada writers… But as we all are English speaking, naturally we used to meet English litterateurs Dinkar ji, Bachchan ji and Punjabi writer Amrita Pritam, all of them everyday. One day Dinkar ji asked me what did you study in school today? So we said that I read Dinkar’s poem today. He asked – what did you read? I said that Masterji told this meaning of the poem. And when told the meaning, he laughed and said – I had never thought so much. So what is your power? It is your power that Dinkar, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Mahashweta Devi could give meaning to their poems which they did not even think about. Whatever meaning you give, it will be the right meaning.
You know duty, what else is there in the scriptures above the path of duty? Ashtavakra Gita in Veer Ras. says-
Duty is a burning fire, it burns everyone.
How can that tree be green, it is on fire.
But you cannot imbibe this high level superficially. You will find that in the 18th chapter of Gita. After completing those 18 chapters, you can find that there is a place for duty as well. It has also been said in the Gita that for one who is satisfied with the soul, for him duty is not karma. So when you are satisfied in the soul, in the soul, then there is a stage above duty-action, which is that of a spiritual master, he will attain it. This is the biggest aim of life.
It is said in Yogavashishtha- Birth and death are nothing but the rising and setting of the sun. If you note it down in your heart and mind, then this one line will be very useful. Is it spirituality or literature? We say that it is a confluence of both. A glimpse of spirituality will be found in the literature of great writers. We read Macbeth for three years in school and three years in college. You must have read Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Romeo and Juliet is definitely taught to everyone at the age of 16 in America. So in Macbeth, the queen tells her lover to kill the king and become the king. There is a long conversation in it. In the adolescent stage, she remembers while studying. The dialogues of Lady Macbeth are the dark side of literature. This dark side will not be found in spirituality. But only the way to take the heart and mind to the higher sky will be found.
Let me tell you another deep secret. In the songs that are sung, only the songs of separation win the prize. Only the songs that tell about the one who is separated in love win the prize. strange. And there is no dark side in spirituality. There is Shiva in all of us. When we are animal lovers, the Pashupatinath form of Shiva appears within us. What is Shiva’s procession? The deprived section of the society is the procession of Shiva. So in spiritual literature you will find the story of union, not separation. Very few will get the story of separation.
The love of a man is on the basis of lust. You fall in love and go and meet her on Valentine’s Day. This human-human love lasts for a very short time. That’s why very soon the time of separation also comes. Lust decays due to age, but the love of Shiva is eternal. Film people also wore it, who said – Hundred years ago I loved you… Hundred years ago, it means that the love I had before assuming this body, that is my love with you. So film directors also try to present something very high by connecting it with today’s pop music. I loved you a hundred years ago, I love you even today and will love you tomorrow… Means love will remain there even when this body is left. This is a glimpse of spiritual love – where two do not live, they become one in love. So spend these two days with this vision, with this state of samadhi, with this sense of humour, with this sense of love. You forget everything else and become literary. You will be filled with joy.
Many thanks to all.
Times Group VC and MD Sameer Jain told how religion, spirituality and country can be connected