*Fascinating incident from the annals of history*

*Fascinating incident from the annals of history* Hathras town in Western UP is in news currently for dubious reasons. It is also a town which has 4 railway stations with the word Hathras in it. (City, Jn, Kila, Road) But Hathras is remembered for another reason. And it is linked to the Railways of which we are still ardent fans. More than 130 years back, a wandering peniless monk was sitting on a bench of Hathras Jn station. He was traveling partly on foot, partly by train, partly by bullock cart, as Providence would provide. Suddenly, the ASM of the station spotted this sanyasi with striking features, a sharp nose and wide eyes sitting on the bench. He went up to him and struck up a conversation. Impressed by his knowledge and dispisition, the ASM requested the monk to be his guest that night and took him to his quarters behind the station. After spending a day or two the monk wished to bid goodbye but the ASM told him to wait; he would rush to the station, submit his resignation and leave with the monk as his disciple which he did and became the monk's first disciple. The monk was none other than Narendranath Dutta who later became Swami Vivekananda. And the ASM of Hathras Jn was Sharat Chandra Gupta, a Bengali gentleman, who, after getting his sanyas vows, was called Swami Sadananda of the Ramakrishna Mission. Yes, it's a fascinating story of a monk and his disciple. You can read more about them in the book, "The Life of Swami Vivekananda, by his Eastern and Western Disciples", Advaita Ashrama (1989 edition), pages 220-224. Before acepting him as his disciple, Vivekananda gave his begging bowl to Sharat and asked him to beg food from the porters and khalasis of the station. This was his way of testing his disciple's earnestness. Without waiting for a moment, Sharat went to the station and begged for food from those very people who were his subordinates till just the previous day. He came back to Swamiji with the alms collected and partook of them along with his Guru. That proved the sublimation of his ego after his renunciation. Incidentally, he was a good friend of Dr. Boshi Sen who later became a world renowned plant/agricultural scientist and lived in Almora. Sharat Chandra Gupta or Swami Sadananda, the erstwhile Asst. Station Master of Hathras Jn., though a Bengali, belonged to Jaunpur. He died in 1911.

Without Lord Krishna, would it have taken even a millisecond for Bhagdatta to kill Evil Arjuna?

Without Lord Krishna, would it have taken even a millisecond for Bhagdatta to kill Evil Arjuna? Without Lord Krishna, would it have taken even a millisecond for Bhagadatta to kill Evil Arjuna? Well… King Bhagadatta along with his vast army fought “Evil” Arjuna for 8 continuous days but was defeated by “Evil” Arjuna in his Rajasuya campaign. Where is Sri Krishna here?? There was a mighty king named Bhagadatta there and the great-souled Pandava fought a great battle with him. Pragjyotisha was surrounded by kiratas, chinas9 and many other warriors who lived along the shores of the ocean.10Having continuously fought with Dhananjaya for eight days and finding him to be still untiring on the field of battle, the king smilingly said, “O mighty-armed one! O descendant of the Kuru lineage! O son of the chastiser of Paka! This blazing valour in battle is appropriate for you. O son!11 I am a friend of Indra of the gods and can withstand Shakra in battle. But I cannot withstand you in battle. O Pandava! What is it that you want? What can I do for you? O mighty-armed one! O son! Tell me. I will do what you wish.” Arjuna replied, “King Yudhishthira, the son of dharma, is a bull among the Kurus. I wish that he may become the sovereign and others pay him tribute. You are my father’s friend and have been affectionate towards me too. Therefore, I cannot command you. Please pay it12 happily.” Digvijaya Parva: Chapter 248(23) Yes… King Bhagadatta’s Vaishnavastra has the boon of infallibility But “Evil” Arjuna has the Mighty Pasupatastra of Lord Shiva to counter the Vaishnava weapon. “The illustrious god said, “O Pandava! I will give you the great Pasupata weapon, dear to me. You will be capable of bearing, releasing and withdrawing it. The great Indra, Yama, the king of the Yakshas, Varuna and Vayu do not know it. How can it be known to humans? O Partha! But it must nor be suddenly released at any man. If it is released at someone who lacks in energy, it will destroy the entire universe. There is no one in the three worlds, mobile or immobile, who cannot be killed by it. It can be released through thoughts, eyes, words or the bow.”293 Kairata Parva: Chapter 338(41) Yes! Sri Krishna did protect Arjuna from the infallible Vaishnava weapon of King Bhagadatta. Why did he support Arjuna in the first place? यतो धर्मस्ततो कृष्णः Yatho Dharma Tato Krishna Meaning: Where there is dharma, there is Krishna So obviously “Evil” Arjuna is in the side of Dharma. यतो धर्मस्ततो जय: Yato Dharma Tato Jaya!! Meaning: Victory only resides in the side of Dharma This means no matter the circumstances, Arjuna would be the Victor because Dharma is in his side.

My father – the Railwayman (SADHNA SHANKER)

My father – the Railwayman (SADHNA SHANKER) One evening, in late November this year, I received a message from a friend in Mumbai. “Is the Mr. Gauri Shanker acknowledged in the series ‘The Railwaymen’ on Netflix your father?” I had not seen the series and did not know the context. When she elaborated that the series was based on the Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984, I suddenly felt goosebumps all over. “Yes, Yes! That is my father. He was there that night.” ‘Hey, in all these years you never told me. What a heroic thing to do!’ Her awestruck response brought back a host of memories, which had been long forgotten and buried in the passage of time. I had just passed out of college in 1984 and was enrolled in LLB. Papa was posted in Mumbai as General Manager, Central Railway and I was staying in hostel in New Delhi. To be honest, I don’t recollect precisely when he told me about that night in Bhopal, but I remember him telling me about it. He had said that he was on an inspection tour and had crossed Bhopal, and was on his way, when he was informed about the gas leak in Bhopal. He had decided to return to Bhopal in his GM Inspection saloon to oversee and guide relief operations. They had returned to Bhopal the same night the gas had leaked. While ensuring that no trains stopped at Bhopal that night, he also coordinated the arrival of necessary railway medical facilities from the vicinity stations into Bhopal. To minimize loss of life, he with his coworkers spent the night coordinating relief and rescue work. My mother had accompanied him on the inspection, and she was shuttered inside the saloon with doors and windows sealed. The two of them spent that fateful night at Bhopal station. My recollection of my father’s narration ends there for me. Yet the impact of that night spent by them at Bhopal station was felt by our family for years. My father had been a man of robust health, boundless energy and enthusiasm. However, he developed heart problems within sometime after that night at Bhopal station. He underwent stent implanting twice and an eventual bypass surgery in 1997. My mother developed lifelong breathing problems after that night spent in a closed-up saloon on Bhopal Station. Their health took a nosedive post that December night in 1984. She died in 2004 at a mere 68 years of age, while our father passed away three years later in 2007 at 73. My parents never got confirmation that their health issues were an outcome of being exposed to the gas, but it was their and our (my sister and me) belief that it was the cause. Maybe it was their ensuing health issues, but I did not muster the courage to see the show on Netflix. Despite the fact that every day I was getting glowing messages from people, including friends of my father, all railwaymen, who had watched it. Then last week, I asked my husband to sit down with me to watch it. And we watched the series in two sittings. All my life I knew my father as a man of vision, of courage and someone who took decisions and implemented them. This was his trait in life and in work. His indomitable spirit often brought out the rebel in me, and consequently we fought often. Something I felt awful about for a long time after his death. I understood him better as I grew older, seeing, at times, many streaks and sparks of him emanating from me! But I had never realized that my father was a hero. Someone who put his life on the line for what he considered was his duty to his workforce, and the passengers who he had undertaken to manage. How had he taken that fateful decision to reverse his saloon towards Bhopal? Despite knowing that there was a poisonous and lethal gas shrouding the city. Where did he find that reservoir of strength and sense of doing the right thing within him? It was incredible. He was from a small village in Western UP, and self-made. In that dark foreboding night as the saloon had trundled back towards Bhopal what had he thought about? Did he wonder about his wife huddled with him in that space or his two daughters in different cities? The railways and his work had been his passion since he joined in 1954 as a civil engineer. Did he, even for a moment, doubt his decision to go? As he stopped onto Bhopal station, which must have been foreboding and eerie, did he feel a stab of fear? And my mother. A graduate from Lucknow university, she was a strong willed and resilient woman, with her own views and opinions. What had she thought when she had been told about the U-turn that the saloon was taking? Had she tried to dissuade my father? Did she think about disembarking at some station in the middle for her own safety? And finally, when she made the decision to go along with him all the way, did she fear for herself? What had been her thoughts as she had sat alone, shuttered up in the saloon that fateful night? But the young me, busy trying to find my own path in life, did not ask any of these questions at that time. Nor thereafter. I had never even thought about them. For me it had been a decision they had taken, which I remember believing shortened their lives. All along, being their child, the import of that decision, and the heroic nature of it never struck me. It never dawned on me what that heroic action had meant for the railways as an institution, and for the railway workers and passengers. My sister too never saw the event in this light. Sometimes you need something as external and neutral as a dramatization of events in a series on an OTT platform to realize what your parents stood for. How in the stroke of one decision the canvas of many lives changed for the better. I picture my father on the platform, guiding relief and rescue, and wonder how motivated and enthused all those working at the station must have felt. The senior most officer of their railway was with them, on the ground, to oversee the work, at great peril to himself and his wife. And I feel a lump rise in my throat. It is not a feeling of grief, but a deep and abiding sense of pride that moistens my eyes. That night my father gave hope to everyone – his family, the railways, and all those who were saved.

IDENTIFYING FEAR........

IDENTIFYING FEAR........ The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 76 When I feel uncomfortable, irritated, or depressed, I look for fear. This “evil and corroding thread” is the root of my distress: Fear of failure; fear of others’ opinions; fear of harm, and many other fears. I have found a Higher Power, who does not want me to live in fear and, as a result, the experience of A.A. in my life is freedom and joy. I am no longer willing to live with the multitude of character defects that characterized my life while I was drinking. Step Seven is my vehicle to freedom from these defects. I pray for help in identifying the fear underneath the defect, and then I ask God to relieve me of that fear. This method works for me without fail and is one of the great miracles of my life in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Self-Analysis

Good Morning!!! Self-Analysis Around the Year with Emmet Fox July 6 Jesus has told us that we always demonstrate our consciousness. We always demonstrate what we habitually have in our mind. What sort of mind have you? Do not let anyone else tell you, because they do not know. People who like you will think your mentality is better than it is; those who do not like you will think it is worse. Just examine your conditions and see what you are demonstrating. This method is scientific and infallible. If an automobile engineer is working out a new design for an engine, for instance, he doesn’t say: “I wonder what Smith thinks about this. I like Smith. If Smith is against this, I won’t try it.” Nor does he say, “I won’t try this idea because it comes from France.” He is impersonal and unemotional about it. He says, "I will test it out, and decide by the results I obtain." All that anyone can do for you is to help you change your thought. You yourself must keep it changed. No one else can think for you. "No man can save his brother's soul or pay his brother's debt." ….and I will put a new spirit within you…. (Ezekiel 11:19).

What answer do I give the little boy who asked me who was the better archer? Ram or Arjun?

What answer do I give the little boy who asked me who was the better archer? Ram or Arjun? I would ask him to read Valmiki Ramayana and Mahabharata to decide the best : I will give my personal unbiased opinion on why Rama is better than anyone In Archery : Arjuna is considered as the best in dwapara yuga but Rama is considered as the greatest archer in Shiva Dhanurveda while Shiva is considered as adhidhanurdhari (First archer) Skills In archery Rama is superior to any being including Krishna : He has the ability to not only shoot Brahmastra but he also had the ability to make the astra follows the target throughout the universes and not a single god including saptarshis had the power to save the target No one in the history has done that impressive Strength : Rama's physical strength is unrivalled . even the entire host of gods , nagas , yakshaa Ghandarvas all together combined couldn't string the bow of Shiva Rama's arrows are stronger than Indras thunderbolt and faster than Garuda or Vayu and he pierced seven sala trees , busted several mountains and seven layers of patala with a single arrow Durability : Rama brushed off thousands and thousands of infallible arrows arrows from indrajits infallible Brahmastra but allowed him to get knocked out only due to the respect of Brahma boon Power : Rama is capable of destroying all the three worlds and remaking it over and above again . He defeated parashurama within a minute by destroying his spiritual Power and snatching back his divine Vishnu teja He also gifted Shatrughan infallible vaishnavastra which was used by Narayana to destroy the demons Madhu and kaitabha and created the three worlds Astras : There is no astra and shastra Rama didn't possessed . In Bhagawat Gita krishna refers to himself as I am Rama among the weilder of weapons .

A Tale of Deceit, Desire and Devastation

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2024/columnists/a-tale-of-deceit--desire-and-devastation.html