Our Hindu philosophy must be used to administrate and shape the development of our communities, nations, and the world. Unfortunately, for Hindu leaders Hinduism does not go beyond the altar of pooja and when it comes to applying it to the administration of a country, Hindus are the first to protest.
Security and health are foremost in the development of a country. This is recognized in Hindu dharma, hence the worship of Mother Durga before Mother Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth and Mother Saraswati, Goddess of Learning and Creativity.
When our health is threatened all development activities are put to a halt. We are ready to exchange our last dollar to restore our health. This was revealed in the last Covid pandemic that witnessed offices, factories, schools, and entertainment coming to a halt in the desperation to restore normalcy. The result was recession for most of the economies of the world.
The Indian economy sunk to 2% of the world GDP in 1947 when it was more that 20 % prior to the British occupation. India’s 1000-year wars to cleanse its soil of foreign invaders resulted in the economy taking a dive and educational institutions being destroyed such as the universities of Taxila and Nalanda among others.
The freedom fighters of India had Mother Durga as their deity. Bengal was the heart of the freedom movement because its central deity was the fierce Mother Durga. Today the Durga Festival is recognized by UNESCO as a global heritage.
Worshipping Mother Lakshmi has bestowed upon us wealth but with the absence of Mother Durga our community has become the targets of bandits. Indians must spend less on Lakshmi Pooja so that we can have more resources to struggle against criminal elements. We need to play sports and make keep-fit and health a central plank of our existence and arrest diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiac diseases. Instead of SUVs and mansions we need to invest in gymnasiums and football and rugby clubs. Indians must engage more in combative sports and less in cricket in the current situation.
Indians have always been a martial race, hence its continuity. The warrior spirit has always marshalled its forces to meet the invaders at the borders. Though it has suffered setbacks, and lost territories to foreign ideologies, India continues to deal knock out punches on anyone that dear to assault her.
The military threat of China at India’s borders is real, and India is forging alliances on the international stage to neutralize this threat. To this end India is expanding its manufacturing of weapons to equip its army and its allies. Today, the Indian army is the third largest army in the world; and now Japan is on the march to rebuild its army once again with the threat of China looming at its back door.
Swami Vivekananda, returning after a successful tour of the US, appealed to the youths to play football to have a better understanding of the Gita. He went on to add that what Hindus needed was muscles of iron and nerves of steel. Once a young man asked: ‘Swamiji, what can I do for India?” He responded: “Go and thief.” Swamiji saw tamas or inertia and the absence of courage and hence such a response.
The diaspora – Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname – needs warrior graduates, that is, graduates with training in the martial arts. If this is not done our graduates as they stand would not be feared and thus respected. The arrogant understands one language and that is force. The diaspora must know when to put away the pen and paper and use the lathi!
The diaspora can learn much from the early Jewish settlers in Israel. They learned not only to plant and farm the land but also to use a gun in self-defense. This training was not confined to males but embraced all able-bodied Jews across the gender divide. Had the Jews not taken these early steps Israel would have been history!
The caustic and crude lyrics that pass for chutney and creativity only demonstrate that a subjected person cannot reach creative heights. What we have parading as artistes in the diaspora are a bunch of hustlers whose music can only be digested in a state of stupor. Mother Saraswati would not present herself to a people who are fighting for survival. She will only take her manifestation when the stomachs are full and there is peace and tranquility in the atmosphere for the creative juices to flow. Now is the time to worship Mother Durga!