In ancient India drama was conceived as but a method of imparting knowledge to the people and it was not meant to excite but to educate, not to entice but to elevate.
The Indian drama as such was therefore it was that not meant to be amusing. It was that which used amusement to reveal verities. If the verities of life can be so well embodied in words as to picture in the mind of the hearer the life of the world as it is and as it ought to be, there then is a feat of the artist. Such feats are not dreams of mere rhetoric, but wore actually realized by seers like Vyasa and Valmiki. But, when times changed, it needed the introduction of what are called drishya karya, meaning ‘visible poetry’, i.e. , drama.
This was the origin of the drama in India. What then were the fundamentals of this great art then? The answer is not far to seek, when the function of the drama is to epitomize not only the world of actualities but also of the verities behind that govern them visibly or invisibly. To the Hindu, knowledge, therefore, is that which enables him to see the transient merge in the eternal by his transcendental vision. Herein is his bliss and the urge of life, the conclusion of all philosophy and religion too. To accomplish this is the function of great teachers end the raison d’etre (reason for being) of drama.
Drama, therefore, cannot logically be only the depiction of life as it is seen and lived on the surface. The invisible other side as well, the undercurrent which life is oblivious of in pleasure and pain, should be suggested by it. Then only can drama expand vision. It can neither be picture-painting nor anything only didactic; the former no lesson and the latter has no life. The one has nothing to teach and the other no appeal, having no touch with life.
Life being what it is—neither pleasure nor pain exclusively– drama too cannot be wholly comedy or tragedy.
The purpose of it, therefore, should not be to represent life as optimistic or pessimistic but visionful if not transcendental. For instance, what use has the common world of a Buddha or a Christ if it cannot have a glimpse of the glory of their renunciation ? It is that vision of the resurrection that makes the cross a bed of roses. And no drama can have mission for the commonalty which has not that vision.
THE subject is not an easy one to tackle. It involves an analysis and examination of a number of concepts. In the first, place, what is meant by ideal ‘ ; and in the next place, what is meant by ‘spiritual’ ? The word ‘ideal’ has many meanings, and. I do not propose to go through all the possible meanings given in the dictionary. What it denotes in the present context is a standard of excellence.
Does it imply an objective which is capable of being attained or realized? To my mind, this is not necessary. It is something which should be sought or striven for, and furnishes a standard or pattern. The ideal may or may not be attainable. It does not cease to be an ideal if it cannot be attained. Perfection, for instance, may be suggested an ideal. But it is hardly ever attainable. Even supposing that perfection is, or should be, the ideal, it does not carry us far, for it conveys no clear idea as to the contents of perfection. Perfection or ideal may relate to various matters and would depend upon the ends or objectives we have in view. It may be physical, material, moral, intellectual, aesthetic or spiritual. Absolute perfection in all things, qualities or attributes is hardly ever realized except in God. Thig again would carry us to the question of the nature of God. It may perhaps be sufficient to say that God is another name for all round perfection or perfection in all things.
Perfection is very often capable of being used relatively with reference to particular objects of contemplation or endeavor. A horse may be described as perfect if we have in view its shape, speed, endurance or capacity for carrying.
A subtle intellect capable of clear thought and analysis may be regarded as a form of excellence and as an ideal to be cultivated. A beautiful picture may be regarded as falling within the world of the ideal. A well-built athlete may be an ideal of physical beauty. Purity of life, character and conduct may be so high as to furnish an ideal to be followed or admired. There are many elements which enter into our conception of excellence of the standard and raise it to the level of the ideal.
When we speak of spiritual ideals, we have to form a clear conception of what is meant by spiritual’. We have to exclude physical and material things. To my mind, an ideal denotes an end and not a means. It refers to or condition to be achieved and not to the means of achieving it. Prima facie the words ‘spiritual ideal’ relate to character and conduct. Asceticism and self-sacrifice are not ends in themselves. Contentment, equanimity and peace of mind would be very desirable states of mind and worth cultivating. Active philanthropy, patriotism and various forms of altruistic conduct may be commended as falling within the sphere of spiritual deals. Tho practice of Yoga or meditation would be a means to the attainment of mental equilibrium, but it is not an end in itself. My spiritual ideal would include altruism, bliss, bhakti or devotion, and the contemplation of perfection in the Shape of divinity. It is not possible to attempt any farther definition.
A thing of beauty, we are told, is a joy for ever, and its loveliness goes on increasing. Things of beauty are spread all around. The thing that is really beautiful will travel through life like a life’s star, like a secret lamp that never dims or fades.
Beauty dwells everywhere, and the appreciation of its loveliness springs eternal, like hope, in human breast. If any one were to take away from our hearts the love of the beautiful, he would take away one of the greatest charms of life. The love of beauty is a gift from God. The thirst for it animates not only the hearts of our great poets and artists, but also those of lowly men and women, our mute, inglorious common folk. There are degrees of this love, but it is innate in all men. We can appreciate the quest for it in all quarters with the same intensity with which the lover of reading can unearth queer treasures from the nooks and corners of book land. In every human, irrespective of their education, this thirst is found. Poet have written odes to earthly beauty and hymns to heavenly beauty. But the common man and woman feel the whole gamut of it, from the beauty of the little wild flower on the sod to the beauty of holiness in the Deity, though they may not give expression to their feelings. It is the same thirst for beauty which makes the man of the town seek communion with nature at the country side on weekends to see the shifting lights and shades of the sky, earth, and foliage in water laden atmosphere.
Why should we then speak of beauty only in its narrow sense, the beauty of the human form? Why need we worry over the length of Cleopatra’s nose, even if it might have changed the history of the world ? Why should we also affect the vein of the moralist, and discourse only on the beauty of honesty, of moral truth, and human goodness? We can bring down this thirst from the higher planes and make it dwell among the poorest, the most illiterate, and least sophisticated of men, among all whose finer sense is touched by the spirit of God. This thirst for beauty is of the essence of man’s higher nature. It will even seem to grow more lovely as we ourselves grow in true culture and appreciation.
Beauty in life’s more select moments is finely touched with emotion and with thought. Its love drives some of our unlearned people to have colored and ornamental articles in their colored landscapes on their rooms, walls, and pictures of flowers on their doors. It takes man one step higher, and makes life one degree cleaner than the daily life of the slums and where poverty and darkness rule supreme. Trivial as these ornaments, landscapes, and flowers are, they are still the A B C of the universal code of beauty. Why does a tenant with hardly five square yards of ground in front of his door-steps plant it with flowers that hardly survive in the foul slum air? Why does the poor, laboring housewife who sees no rest from toil keep the little worship-room or spot -in her small tenement neat, and holy for the purposes of devotion and worship? Why did the poet’s heart leap up for joy on beholding the multicolored rainbow in the sky ? It is because of this thirst for beauty, the desire for something that is not of the squalid everyday existence.
An old poet once said that the god sell all things at a fair price; he might have added that they sell their best goods at the cheapest. All that is really beautiful is offered to us as a gift from the maker. We are allowed to see the sun rise and set, to watch the clouds sailing along the sky, to enjoy the forests and the fields end the glorious sea, all without spending even a copper coin. The birds sing to us for nothing, and we pick up wild flowers as we walk along the roadside. There is no entrance-fee to the star-lit halls of the night There is so much beauty all around that the thirst for it need never go unslaked or unsatisfied. A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. So, enjoy the beauty of every day life! Inner
“Today, as I immersed myself in R.K. Narayan’s ‘Salt & Sawdust,’ I was compelled to contemplate the temperament of one of the characters, sparking a deeper exploration into the concept of temperament as inherent human nature.” Throughout my two-decade software career, I’ve witnessed numerous occasions where colleagues, managers, and even C-level executives have displayed public or private outbursts of temper. Beyond the workplace, whether in cinema halls, government offices, or even casual gatherings, I’ve observed people reacting passionately towards one another. Recently, online platforms like WhatsApp groups have emerged as arenas for individuals to express previously unseen levels of irritability, impatience, and frustration over various issues. The introduction of new waves of emojis has further intensified the expression of disagreement and contention.
I seldom lose my composure at work, and I can recall only two or three instances where I’ve found myself impatient with my colleagues. Age, life experience, philosophical approach in viewing life and death and the ability to assess impacts have instilled in me a propensity to carefully reconsider before allowing my temper to flare.
Temperament and Career:
WE often hear people saying that they haven’t got the aptitude or the temperament for a particular job or profession. ” I shall never amount to anything as a lawyer or a doctor because I haven’t got the aptitude or the proper temperament.” This is an argument that is most frequently employed by persons who have failed to achieve success in their endeavors or are skeptical about their future. But this is neither a true nor a complete explanation.
It is no doubt conceded that there are infinite tendencies to be satisfied in every individual and the stifling of any one of these arrests his growth to that extent and makes him weak. In the early years of a child we find the child developing strong likes and dislikes for various objects. But a careful and a deep analysis would reveal that they are not deep-rooted. Psychological researches have shown that human beings dwell in ‘ general ability.’ They have not proved to what extent these differences are caused by inherited nature, how much they are inborn. We do not deny that some people possess by nature special abilities and disabilities that determine their career in life. We have the example of the first class geniuses. The great musician composing at his 5th year, the great painter painting while tending his sheep, are all of an exceptional kind. They are unusual persons.
But, for ordinary average human beings, out of the infinite tendencies exhibited, the urge to show our attempts at its best in any held of activity should be most strongly developed. As the human personality is highly gullible in the early stages of its evolution, a long trained and highly regulated mixture of education enables the individual to take to any calling or activity in life with natural ease and eventually leaves a permanent impress on the mind of the individual that even the mere contemplation of change to any other is bitter for her/him. Hence likes and dislikes are more the outcome of life and environment that the one that shapes and molds human personality. Why else do we condemn instinct and impulse so vehemently and with such consistency ?
“If education is not the mere collection of facts but the concentration of mind,” should not a man who has had the benefits of a sound educational system be capable of adapting himself to the circumstances and try to make the best out of a bad job. Should he/she not strive to spring up to the top, however slowly he/she might be placed ?
Hence, a sound educational system should be one that in a general way harmonizes between the intellectual, the moral and the practical parts of human nature.The human will or determination should be made capable of obeying the joint impulses of these directing forces. In its cultivation does his success depends, and not on that vague and undefinable thing, called temperament which is nothing more than but an insubstantial bogie.
CIVILIZATION is a condition of life which only man has achieved, man who can neither fly nor swim, and yet has ranged the seas around and scoured the skies above, roamed all over the earth for treasure or for adventure, and flashed his messages from one end of the globe to the other in the fraction of a moment. The animal world has not much to do with what we call intelligence, and is guided by the urge of instinct and self-preservation, often bordering on what seems intelligence and yet essentially away from it. They live as their predecessors lived before them, back into the obscure dawn of creation. But civilization is a process that is all the while going on in our minds. Man’s thoughts leap ahead of achievement, always questioning, experimenting, always inquiring. They are products of his brain and eyes and fingers, but the brain is the more effective of these three assets. The apes too have eyes and fingers and use them well, unlike other animals. But with all that is said about the missing link, the link is missing still. Keen sight and deft hands do not count for much without that discontent which accompanies man’s developed brain power.
What men have always done through the eyes and are still doing is to accumulate the great and ever-increasing store of knowledge and experiment which they use to extend control over the material world. This knowledge and control produce a condition of life whose development coincides with the growth of civilization. The material part of civilization is a marketable commodity of which the rich are able io buy more than the poor. The difference, however, is fast diminishing. Modern technology, cheap transport alternatives, online payments, digital access with wide educational opportunities which are daily growing wider, are giving far more people a chance to share in this civilization which has come down to them. Nearly everyone can afford a mobile and keep in touch with the whole world, every can afford a piece of cheap soap and can keep clean, not everyone need trudge on foot. Of course we are not satisfied. To be satisfied will be to deny our human nature, But if glance back at the bleak and precarious existence of our remote ancestors, Can we doubt that our lot is more varied and brighter, and our chances of happiness easier within our grasp and more capable of fulfilment?
The story of the changes in man’s values and ideals is vast. The story of how he lived under the great civilizations that the world has known in the past is vaster still. The history of ancient Egypt goes back 4,000 years, and now after the latest archaeological finds it is true that the history of ancient India takes us still further into the past. Their relation to the story of the development of modern civilization will here be out of place. There were outbursts of the creative spirit of man which largely influenced their time and the times that followed until the outburst of a new spirit took the place of the old. How little material comforts makes for the essence of civilization can best be shewn by referring to the way our older generations lived. Since then, comforts been pushing the boundaries of modern civilization. Revolts, wars, renaissance, struggle for the freedom, environmental changes, modern technology, advancement in science succor the change into modern civilization.
Despite all these changes in its growth and development, it would be still true to say with the cynic that the more civilization changes the more it is the same thing. We must distinguish between its essence and it’s incidents; for in its essence it is based in any country on the more or less effective reign of social law. Wherever security is established, the arts, literature, science end the amenities that science has brought in its train flourish. A country is not civilized because they flourish, they flourish because the country is civilized. And in spite of the outward splendor of civilization the question still remains—is homo sapiens really progressing? In the optimistic years of the last century it was largely taken for granted that steady progress was developing. Yet there were doubters. An altogether new character was given to our civilization not only by the theoretical progress in the knowledge of nature and its secrets, but by the application of that knowledge in a technical sense. Yet that application has been productive also of much destruction and misery.
Liberty has been laughed at, hatred bas desolated the earth, and two wars have been followed by the distant rumblings of a third. The discovery that peace is preferable to war is not new. Disarmament proposals can be traced as far back ag the sixth century B.C. China, and universal brotherhood has been the keynote of religion from the earliest times. Such discussion is always theoretical, and the lust for strife and war seems to be permanent. Our progress in science must be guided by a much greater progress in ethical standards and by more practical sense of the essential unity of mankind. The real issues are always moral and spiritual. A.I and Scientific discovery must be adjusted to ethical development, if the future is not to be overcast and gloomy. Even if this is a somber forecast it is useful to consider the harsher alternative if only to know best how to avoid it and to see the happier prediction fulfilled. Modern civilization is not an unmixed blessing, nor is it an unmitigated curse. It is for man to increase the one and to lessen the other. And one would fain conclude this story of over several thousand year on a note of fulfilment and hope for a meaningful life!
In a somber mood, on January 1st of this new year, without rant and complain to anyone started thinking about ‘For a Good Sleep” and adding notes to this blog post, which turned into like this:
As the mind constantly and fantasizes, creating and destroying its own world, It gets entangled in its own creation; the seeker, finding it difficult to handle random thoughts, is virtually forced to abandon his/her meditation. Similarly, because of the inability to disengage themselves from the rush of endless thoughts, some people begin to suffer insomnia. During bouts of sleeplessness, people realize the extent to which their minds are out of control. After Covid-19, sleeplessness, less sleep or insomnia have been the people’s frequent topic to mutter and the discussion can continue for hours and hours while thinking about for its consequences to our mental or the physical health. Companies are preaching their employees to ‘have a good sleep, parents keep asking ‘go to bed and stop watching phone’ and doctors forcing us to ‘avoid stress and take rest’, bounty of examples to count on but still people continue to live ‘sleep deprived’.
I go to bed early and wakes up early by 5 A.M. Headache, indigestion are my body symptoms and I will be bit grumpy when I am sleep deprived. To avoid this, most of the times, I am punctual to my sleep timings and bit conscious about my night food. Food and Sleeping are my conscious habits that I choose carefully. Maintaining consistency is the key factor! Even If I do, I still can’t sleep immediately. Some can, may be it’s God’s gift to them like of a baby sleep. I always have hard times, while in bus/train or in a plane to sleep. I need to dry out completely to sleep in a plane.. Crestfallen!
Sleep a special state of the organism, due to certain physiological conditions, which is characterized by unresponsive to the external stimuli and (generally) by absence of observable signs of consciousness. Still there are many ongoing researches to the analysis of the exact nature of sleep and brain in stimuli. Extreme individual variations in the every aspect of sleep hinder us from definite generalizations.
From biological point of view, the broad characteristic features of sleep are, the reduction of metabolic rate, comparative physical immobility, diminished response to external stimuli, and the replacement of the degenerated cells by the new-born.. Psychologically, sleep is said to cause cessation of higher mental processes. It has further been observed to possess the power of replenishing the energy man uses up in this waking hours, though it is difficult to ascertain with exactitude as to what extent sleep is indispensable for this particular purpose.
For a Good Sleep:
I think, duration of sleep, motility and depth of sleep are the key factors for a good sleep. These can be trained to the body and mind.
1.Duration is a fundamental factor of sleep. A wide range of Individual differences’ is noticed with regard to this factor. Thomas Edison is credited to have done well with 3 to 4 hours of sleep often spreading them over 3 or 4 periods of an hour each. And, Napoleon could forego sleep for days together without any visible adverse effects. Yet, children of superior mentation are sold to sleep longer than those who are comparatively inferior. A person of pronounced habits and accustomed to get his eight hours would in all probability feel lethargic the next day if he were deprived of his sleep even by an hour any night. He would not, however, feel it irksome to carry on his normal duties if he gradually but confidently reduces sleeping hours. It is perhaps an act overdone to assign the hours of sleep to children or the adults; suggestion and habit play distinguishing parts in increasing or decreasing the sleeping hours without producing any striking effect.
2) Motion or Motility in sleep is a characteristic which is closely related to the cause of sleep as also its effect. As it is well known, one of the simplest, ways of bringing about sleep is to remain in a passive and relaxed state. Motion on the other hand appears to be an essential feature in sleep, since sleeping on the same side for a prolonged period would impair the vascular circulation on that side of the body. Usually motility increases during the second half of sleep when its depth appears to slacken.
3) Depth of sleep is generally believed to be negatively related to the duration though the important factor in the recuperative functions of sleep. In order to measure the depth several methods have been tried by the researchers but still some more are needed to find the real effectiveness.
Sleeping is a peculiar body trait that differs from person to person. But, the body and mind can be trained for a good sleep. Harmonious Food, Philosophical mindset, Physical exercise and Regular Yoga are my tools for a good sleep. I keep my sleeping patterns common and I request the same to my wife and kids. Rest all individual choices.
Happy New Year 2024! Hope this year brings us some good sleep regularly. Wish You Sleep Well Peacefully and Mindfully!
This morning while skimming my phone for some old pictures, many photos of sculptures and temples with great architectures took my thoughts to the reasons behind Indian culture of sculpture creation and it’s continuum. Which I drafted like this:
If I peep into the mediaeval stage of Indian deal of things which we must feel proud of. By sculptural arts and we shall be able to explore a great mediaeval, I mean the period beginning from the 4th century AD, and lasting up to the 8th century AD. This is the period of the ‘Renaissance’ of arts in India. It is during this stage that the people of India felt a general outburst of their mental activities both in arts and religion, perhaps never equalled before or since. In history, this period is better known as the Gupta Period, the golden age of Indian history. During this period; Hinduism was revived and had a strong hold in the social and cultural life of the masses. The revived Hinduism, through its rites and pompous ceremonies, made a great appeal to all people, irrespective of their social status. It was not without reason Buddhism for its conception of social equality and freedom of thoughts and religion, at once made a great appeal to the masses and practically almost the whole of India accepted Lord Buddha as the savior. But the lofty ideal of Buddhism, influenced by the conception of the ‘Para-Brahma’ or the Highest Reality of Vedanta, as it is, together with its ‘Karmabad’ and Godless form, was a thing too abstract for the common man to understand and follow in day-to-day life. The ‘Hinayana Buddhism’ held before the masses the highest form of moral life and spiritual entity, but for its abstractness, public mind gradually grew less responsive towards its call. At this stage Hinduism was revived and through the patronage of the Gupta Emperors it became the religion of the masses. It is in this stage that we find the excavation of the Cave-temples of Elephanta and Ellora (5th to 6th century AD) and also of the Ajanta Caves (7th century A.D). Elephanta is purely Hindu origin ; and Ajanta belongs to the ‘Mahayana School’ of Buddhism which in details of rites and pompous ceremonies much resembled Hinduism. These large excavations and mass people gatherings have created opportunities to the kings to hobnob political and social strategies. Imperial societies swanked this ground reality perfectly.
It is universally recognized that arts and craft have a great educative value. Our predecessors in the early mediaeval age also understood the educative value of arts and crafts. It is with that idea that they constructed the Cave-temples, installed images of popular gods or figures therein and opened the doors to the masses for visit, especially during the occasions of great festivals connected with the faith. Worship and pompous ceremonies, as organized during these festivals, attracted a large crowd to those places. People from different parts of the country, both literate and illiterate, big and small visited those places. The high tenets of religious philosophy and dogmas, which otherwise would not have had any appeal to the illiterate masses, were imperceptibly infused into their minds and consciously or unconsciously, they returned home wiser and more religiously-minded.
The high personalities or ‘Acharyas’ who attended those ceremonies and taught things through both examples and percepts, had magnetic influence over the life of the people who at once worshipped them as heroes and made them their life’s ideal. Here we find the utility of the religious fairs, festivals, ceremonies, etc., and undoubtedly find an answer to why the great kings and figures of the country spent so much in constructing Cave-temples of Elephanta, Ellora and Ajanta. The religious tenets and philosophy as emanated from these places had a wonderful influence over the life of the people and molded their thoughts and actions for a fairly long period of time. Can we Imagine a better way of educating the masses ? My answer is definite “no.”
The age of epic is gone forever. The age of Elephanta, Ellora and Ajanta has long gone by. It is true, but still, I would boldly say that as arts and crafts, rituals and ceremonies, have a great educative value in life, we must see as to what extent we can utilize the illustrative lessons of those great works in developing our national life.
Recently, I met an young boy who was stammering at a function and after the fact he was very normal and able to talk to me properly without slurring or stammering the same words. And the same, I observed with some of my colleagues in the past. I remember few incidents in my life where I stammered with a pause to pronounce in front of a small to large group of audiences. Today, while watching a YouTube video, a person with a slurring speech inducted me to think about it’s causes and affects. Here is my notes drafted for it’s causes and cure:
Besides the muscles that are brought to work in normal speech, the windpipe, the larynx or voice box, vocal chords, palate, tongue, lips and throat are all co-operating in one way or another for natural speaking. Now the muscles of speech can be made not to relax or contract as is needed through fear and other psychological factors. If any muscle or organ of the speech, through nervous disorder or any other cause fails to regulate breathing and the passage of air through the vocal chord there almost invariably faulty speech results with a possible stammering.
The movements of the lips, jaw bones, palate and tongue must be such that when the air passes through the vocal chord to produce the given sound or speech there may result harmony and coordination between words and thoughts. In almost every case of stammering this coordination is lacking. Hence the purpose of re-education is to bring back the needed air for the needed words and remove the disharmony between the two. Hence it is rightly said that it is not a physician nor a surgeon that is needed for curing stammering and stuttering, but rather master, a teacher who with infinite patience and practical experience would sit hours together with the distressed pupils and enable them to control breath corresponding to the letter, syllable and word to be pronounced.
Besides the bio-physiological apparatus for voice production, there is also the psychological element that enters into the art of speech. For example, inferiority complex and fear are most common factors that work for the perpetuation of stammering. It is a vicious circle and some end it must be broken. It is for this that the cure of stammering is on a dual front, physical breathing and psychical healing.
Besides the natural reeducation of phonetics, the psychological handling of the ease is also most important. Psychological treatment, however; is not the prolonged, costly, and often ineffective methods of modern psychoanalysis. Psychotherapy is part of naturopathy and it essentially consists in the skill of the teacher to detect the hidden psychosomatic causes that work behind and cause stammering’ in the given Individual. Psychotherapeutic methods, however, do not al-together exclude psycho-analysis in those cases where some deep, hidden unconscious force is working and is not easily detectable except through the skilled queries and observations of an experienced of an psycho analyst.
What is to be stressed however is that the cure of stammering essentially, basically and fundamentally consists in remolding the breath with perfect control and measurement so that the disharmony between letters, syllables and words while pronounced or spoken and the ideas may be removed by bringing back the normal vibrations of the vocal chords. May be doctors could use some device to find this difference and suggest some medicines to avoid the psychological anxieties.
“We can only see our outside, but nearly everything happens on the inside.” So, focus inside to come out of the fears, inhibitions or anxieties!
Few days back, I had a mooted discuss with my high school going teenage daughter about her views on importance of history and facts that she’s studying. As like other kids, she ensnared lot of names of various dynasties and their imperial king names, but she has less known about the social, economical and culture aspects of a common man at those times! I read the same and now it’s her turn to perambulate! In a contemplation again, I always feel like we need to teach our kids and reshape our history about the historical culture of a common man around the world!
Historiography has so far been one of the most neglected branches of learning owning mainly to circumstances resulting from alien rule or from dynasty politics. The only approach to our country’s history that was recognized or encouraged by the foreign rulers was the one that suited their interests, and this was doubtless vitiated by the usual racial and imperialists bias that characterizes the average outsider when he/she looks at Oriental history and civilization. In the old day, court historians wrote in deference to the whims of their loyal masters. It will be an evil day indeed, if the historians of our own times turn courtiers to the ruling party of the day. This causes various pitfalls in finding the right or the truth of the time. In this path, we have chances for regional or provincial feelings may sway the historians views, facts will be under water when historian is in favor of specific caste or a community or to a school of thought. These reasons still faces me with many raisings doubts about our history! Few examples like: What is the true facts behind the Indo Aryan-Dravidian debate?What’s the true personal character of some of the renowned rulers, facts about the people, their lifestyle, their outer personifications, true inner circles of our political leaders, facts about partition, myths circulated, hemorrhages of religion , etc..
I think, we need to re write our books entirely scientific, and should not be actuated by any extraneous motives, howsoever laudable or desirable. We will have to produce a more integral and correlated picture of the life of the common man than was attempted before. Institutions, cultural or otherwise, wall have to be studied not in isolation, hitherto done, but as inter related links in the of national culture or economy. The inter-relation of history with other social sciences have to be classified in detail so as to enable us to know the entire truth. The sciences like Sociology, Anthropology, Geography, Economics, etc, most come within the purview of historian Archaeology, Numismatics, Epigraphy and Archives will receive a much greater attention than they have hitherto received.
Hitherto, our history has meant the history of kings and royal dynasties not that of the common people and their life and culture. The historian of the future will have to concern more with social, economic and cultural aspectsthan with wars and invasions and royal conquests. Political events will of course form the steel-frame of history, but sociological developments necessarily attract greater attention in future. The common man, has so far been almost totally ignored Or neglected by the previous historian. The life of the common people will now have to be studied on the basis all available and hitherto undiscovered sources, documentary or otherwise Archives of all types will have to be carefully explored and sifted. We are hardly far advanced beyond the fringe of a vast field of exploration. The very immensity of historical records at our disposal makes our task indeed very difficult. A band of tireless workers needed to explore every nook and corner of this field before we can reach a stage when the re writing of history will be practicable or desirable. How history has been, or may be misused is too well known to need a detailed recapitulation. We don’t need panegyrists or propagandists. The craving for uncritical applause will have to be restrained, and, above all, prejudices, of all kinds will have to get rid of only then will have the highest standards of history making.
Across the world, Crime Rates have been rapidly growing and taking multitudinous avatars using the growing new technology! From a heinous physical harm to the bearing malice cyber crime, all can be traced to a depraved and morbid individual who is influenced by self or other who accomplice. In my view, “World peace can be achieved, not through force, not through authority imposed —though it is to some extent necessary —but essentially through Education. In the new education for world peace, literature has a very important and vital part to play.”
Literature composed of those books primarily winch have an abiding and abounding human interest of a general nature, and which delight, move, instruct us by their form, beauty of expression, and significance, Literature thus grows out of life, out of the experience and awareness of life, or the imagination or emotional response of the writer based on his contact with life. It cannot be divorced from the social environment and cannot flourish in a vacuum. Whether it arises from the creative instinct or the desire for self-revelation or the study of human motives and actions or the weaving together of reality and imagination, It cannot but be a vital factor in the liberal education, of humanity. The literature of purely personal experience , of the common life of man as man (the great questions of life and death, sin and destiny, God, man’s relation with God, the hope of the race and hereafter, and the like) , of the social world with all Its activities and problems, the literature which treats of Nature, and the literature which treats the art.
It has to be that a good deal of the literary creations of all countries, especially drama and fiction, is apparently hardly conducive to the inspiration of a new co-operative existence, of a world of tolerance sanity, mutual understanding, of international amity, and of the pursuit of peace and progress The reasons are not far to seek. All the great masterpieces of epic drama, and fiction are conditioned by the social order to the ages in which they were written and they naturally reflect the ideals and beliefs which are hard to accept today. Thus the glorification of war, the delight it conquest and prowess in the battle field, the subservience of man to dictatorial authority, the institution of slavery the feudal order, chauvinistic patriotism and nationalism and the assertion of the individual will and power and themes which do not lend themselves to re-education in a a world which seeks the social welfare of the masses, comparative equality of status, tolerance, and brotherhood. The lives of the Napoleons and Alexander of history must not be allowed to thrill the minds of the young. Instead the ‘good’ characters in a story should often so effective—All that needed is a shift of emphasis and a better way of reading these masterpieces for revealing their significance to young minds. Because the great masterpieces of fiction and drama and biography still give us a clearer understanding of human motives and conduct.
From apparent evil so much real good can be extracted that the study of literature in fact ought to make us understand human nature better. Not should we forget the catharsis at the end of a great tragedy- the purging of the emotions of pity and terror that are aroused by tragic situation. The epics of Greece and The Ramayana or The Mahabharata legendary epics from India give accounts of sanguinity battles but they also inspire men to noble deeds of chivalry self-sacrifice, and heroism.
There are, however, other spheres of literature,— poetry, for example, viz , the great poems of Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti, Dante, Milton, Wordsworth, Shelley, Goethe, and Tagore, to take only a few instances,- which express all the idealism, dreams, and aspirations of great minds. Thus the longing for liberty, political and spirituality, for a new world of peace and harmony, for friendship among the nations of the world. The meditative, thoughtful, and formative books of mystics, saints, and divines are also literature in the real sense of the word. Thus the New Testament, parables and stories and teachings of Christ and Buddha, and of Gita, the lyrics and songs of Kabir, Tukaram and of Omar Khayyam are as great a heritage as the great dramas and novels of the world. If we had greater emphasis on these works in our educational institutions than we give at present, a real change can be brought about in the human outlook.The message of tolerance and mutual understanding, of friendship between man and man and race and race, is one that can reach the human heart, eager through the above works than, through mere preaching.
The literature of the future, it is hoped, will lay aside the morbid, the unhealthy, the fanatical, and the evil tendencies in man and dwell on all that is sane, cooperative, and healthy and emphasize the liberal and benign tendencies. It must, of course, remain art all the tune and not degenerate into mere propaganda. It will lead humanity to peace, cohesion, and tolerance. We need tech savvy and human pro individuals to the world!
sivaayyala 