Why is no Muslim found to be a Kabirpanthi?

I have visited Maghar only twice, although it is only 25 Kilometres away from Gorakhpur, where I go almost every year to my in-law’s house. This place is famous because it is associated with the great saint Kabirdas. This place was earlier in the Basti District but now it falls in Sant Kabir Nagar, which has been named after him at the bank of the Aami river. A few years ago, it was a neglected place but now a lot of developments have taken place and many more are underway mainly after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UP-Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Sant Kabir was a revolutionary, not only by perception but also by practice. He had hit hard on the superstitious practices of both Hindus and Muslims. He is believed to have lived for 125 years and in the last days of his life, he left Kashi to live in Maghar. 'क्या काशी क्या ऊसर मगहर, राम हृदय बस मोरा| जो कासी तन तजै कबीरा, रामे कौन निहोरा' It is said that those who die in Kashi, go to Heaven but those who die in Maghar, are condemned to Hell. Kabir openly said that he did want to take any favour from that God, who differentiates the people because of one’s place of birth or death.

The general belief was that Sant Kabir was loved and followed by Hindus and Muslims as well. It is said that after his death Hindus wanted to cremate his body, but Muslims wanted it to be buried. A quarrel between the two ensued but in the meantime, there was an Akashwani that his dead body had been reduced into flowers. When the shroud was removed, both communities found flowers strewn in place of his body which they got divided among themselves. While Hindus made a Samadhi of those flowers, Muslims made a Mazar. Samadhi and Mazar are found at less than 25 metres in Maghar. While Samadhi is taken care of by a Kabirpanthi Sanyasi, who normally wears white clothes, Mazar is looked after by a Mutwalli. Thus, there was an enigma attached to the death of Sant Kabir, it continues to be even today.

When Hindus and Muslims both lay their claims over Sant Kabirdas, is it not strange as to why no Muslim is found to be a Kabirpanthi, at least to my knowledge? Go to any Ashram or Mutt in any part of the world, it is well-nigh impossible to find any Muslim rejecting and renouncing the religious practices of Islam and following in the footsteps of Kabir Das. This shows that Kabirpanth and Islam cannot go together as anybody rejecting the tenets of Islam will immediately be declared Kafir. But it hardly matters for a Hindu. In fact, a Hindu rejoices if the evils of his/ her religion are often ridiculed or mocked. ‘मोको कहां ढूढ़ें बंदे, मैं तो तेरे पास में. न मैं देवल, न मैं मस्जिद, न काबे कैलास में was liked by Hindus and not by other communities.’ Kabir can provide the best solution to get society rid of religious bigotry.

Any great person’s life remains enveloped with mysteries and so was the life of Kabir. He was lapped up by millions of Hindus throughout the world for assailing the superstitions of their religion but there is hardly any person born as a Mohammedan can be found to be a follower of Kabirdas ji. Kabir Das, Ravi Das, Baba Gorakh Nath or Guru Nanak were the reformers of the Hindu religion. Alas! Those born and brought up in Islam do not subscribe to these seers and saints. A lot of catholicity and tolerance will have to be developed in Islam and Christianity if they start looking at the religion from the prism of Sant Kabir.

 

Galloping Progress of New Media

                     Galloping Progress of New Media

 The age-old principle of journalism has been to make headings short and attractive so that the reader, audience, or viewer may get interested in the news. The INTRO i.e., the introduction should be crispy, and it should be able to convey the gist of the news at the beginning itself. In the 'Body', details used to be given and the 'Tail' was considered to be the least important. But nowadays 'Tail' has assumed the highest importance. Today we find that most of the Youtubers, many of them have been former journalists, have totally forgotten old rules. Most of the time is now wasted in the preamble itself and the kernel of the information comes in the last.

    More often than not, it is seen that there is a complete mismatch in the heading and the news. Even if one has read or seen the complete news or video, one is lost in finding out the grains from the chaffs.  It is true that the present generation of journalists is more techno-savvy, more educated and intelligent than the old generation. If proper training is imparted to them, they can work wonders in the field.

   There is no doubt that some web portals have come up, which serve the news in a few words but then their zeal to make the news short usually leave the reader or viewer gasping because nothing becomes clear. Journalism has never been considered to be a lucrative profession. Previously it was confined to the print medium, which has now become a shrunk medium. Audio-electronic media has also lost much of its sheen.

  It appears that the bright future is in store for Webs, YouTube, Blogs, and a whole host of new media. But the million-dollar question is that of the economic viability.  Would a new journalist be able to survive without the support of advertisements? As per OSH Code, the journalists of the new media have also been recognised. 

  Communication technology is making giant strides with every passing day, and it is certain that in the days to come journalism will witness the complete transformation. Hopefully, it will be a welcome change. As far as fake news is concerned, it has always been present. The only difference is that today it has got a bigger reach and therefore has become more damaging. Earlier people used to consider the printed words as the gospel of truth but today every news is taken with a pinch of salt.

 

Hijab Row is Totally Absurd

                                                                           

        Hijab controversy is raging in the country. Ideally, there should be no objection to what one wears if it does not violate decency and decorum. Modern Muslim feminists like Wafa Sultan, Ayan Hirsi Ali have, in fact, been campaigning against those Islamic orthodoxies, which are retrogressive.  They have said unequivocally in their books that any type of veil is retrogressive and, therefore, the earlier this practice is eschewed by the Muslim women the better. However, presently society appears to have got divided along religious lines.  Even those, who have till yesterday been opposing the dictates of Taliban for women to compulsorily wear veils and not to venture out of their houses without the company of any male member have come now out in support of the Hijab and Burqa for women. Sudden change in their attitudes may be intriguing but those who have closely watched them in the last few years would never be surprised. Anyway, the matter is now sub-judice and hopefully, the ruling of the High Court will settle this issue.

  The moot question is whether Hijab or Burqa are essential and integral parts of the religion or simply a symbol of a distinct identity. There is no doubt that it is now being used as a new phenomenon for asserting religiosity. Earlier it was being worn by a few women, that too, under the pressure of their menfolk but now it has become a politico-religious tool. Men and women of different communities and areas, of course, have been wearing such traditional clothes which could make them different and distinct from the people of other places. Even the persons belonging to the same religion have been wearing different types of dresses. This has been the beauty of our diversity. For example, the style of wearing a Dhoti by Brahmin differentiates him from the ways of wearing by a Kshatriya or Vaishya or other castes. The style of wearing a Lungi of a Panjabi is distinct from a Keralite. A Bengali’s dhoti looks separate from a Rajasthani or UPian or Bihari.

Thus, in a way the trousers or pants have brought a welcome change among men and as it has proved to be a big equaliser. Saris are also worn in different ways by women across the country. A Bengali’s style is district from those of Marathi or other places. But Burqa is a regimented dress as it has come from abroad. It denies any scope of diversity regardless of area or region.  

  In our university days, we have seen Buddhist students coming from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Burma, who used to wear a loose saffron robe or habit by which they could be easily recognised. But it was meant only for monks and not for levity. Although some Muslim boys, not all, have been wearing long Kurtas and short pyjamas, which also gave them a separate recognition. But this freedom has been available only after the higher secondary level. It was impossible to see any burqa-clad girl in any school, college, or university except in Madrassas. Burqa has been considered to be a symbol of bondage and most of the educated girls have been vociferously raising their voices to get rid of this bondage.

  It is now clear that girls in Karnataka and elsewhere have not taken this decision to wear Burqa or hijab on their own. They m have reportedly been instigated or radicalised to take up such a retrogressive step by the Campus Front of India an outfit of the People’s Front of India, which has its roots in Kerala. Obviously, the Hindu boys took the steps of wearing the saffron scarf in reaction, which also cannot be endorsed in any case. If they are studying in any Gurukul or Mutt, there is no bar on them to wear saffron or any other prescribed clothes.

  But look at the brazenness of some people, who have been appreciating the insanity of a burqa-clad girl, who was shouting an Islamic slogan and mocking scores of Hindu boys. Instead of hauling up that cranky girl for her highly uncouth and ugly behaviour, there are many who are full of praise for her dementia. Hindu boys should also have been scolded for raising slogans in retaliation to Burqa.

  At a time when the women are happily moving shoulder to shoulder with men. Can they be caged with their clumsy dress like Burqa or Hijab? After all, there has to be some semblance of discipline about dress in certain fields and there should be no exemption from that. For instance, if a Muslim woman is serving in the police or military, can she be allowed to wear Burqa, even it is integral to her religion? Similarly, A Muslim Advocate cannot claim to have the liberty to wear Burqa in the Courtroom in the name of her religious identity. The same is the case if a particular attire is prescribed in any company or institution, the same cannot be allowed to be diluted.  How can these Muslim girl-children be permitted to wear Burqa in a school, which has a prescribed dress code?

  However, let it be hastened to say that where there is no dress code, there should be complete freedom to wear anything of his/her choice subject to decency and acceptability in society. Like no one can insist on entering a temple, a mosque or a Gurdwara with their shoes on in the name of individual freedom. In some temples, men are allowed to enter only with bare chests and dhotis and in Gurudawaras one can enter only after covering the head. Nobody can be allowed to defy it in the name of freedom. In the same way, the food habits differ from place to place and person to person, but no one can claim to have the liberty of eating any and everything without having any regard to the sentiments of persons and the place.

   Hopefully, the responsible persons of the society of different religions will rise to the occasion to maintain peace and cordiality. Most of such problems and difficulties can be got over by enacting the Common Civil Code for the entire citizenry.

 

Padma Vibhushan to late Radhey Shyam Khemka: A Well-Deserved Tribute to a Saintly Editor

    Gorakhpur stands out for three things- Geeta Press, Gorakh Nath Mutt, and its Railway Station, which has perhaps one of the biggest platforms in the world. It was here in the Railway quarters, the world-renowned Kriya Yogi – Parmahansa Yoganand was born, who wrote the bestselling book, ‘An Autobiography of a Yogi’. Two Marwaris, Hanuman Prasad Poddar and Radhey Shyam Khemka associated with iconic Geeta Press, have been the other inspiring and impelling persons to bring Gorakpur on the world map. While Shri Poddar was one of the primary trustees, along with Jay Dayal Goenka, to set up the Geeta Press, Radhey Shyam Khemka edited the Kalyan Magazine for 38 long years. He literally took the Sanatan literature to masses through Kalyan, apart from publishing innumerable religious books, which have been sold in crores across the world.

   My journalist friend Shri Chandrashekharam of Munger tells me that Shri Khemka also belonged to his hometown but for the last many years he lived in Varanasi and his food was always cooked in Ganga Jal. So, when this year Padma Vibhushan Award was announced for him, it was a long-overdue recognition of a person for pursuing spiritual journalism and taking it to new heights. No doubt, it was a well-deserved tribute to him. It would have been better if it had been conferred on him in his lifetime but better late than never.  The Kalyan is perhaps the only journal, where the maximum care is taken about the correct spelling and the purity of the language. Late Shri Khemka insisted that no spelling mistake should occur in the Kalyan because people read it like a religious scripture.  

   Shri Khemka used to say that if somebody is reading the wrong mantras because of incorrect spellings, it means that he/ she is not getting the virtuous fruits of the mantras. This is the reason that it is almost impossible to find any spelling mistake in the Kalyan. The famous American journalist Herald Evans used to say that it was impossible to bring out a newspaper or a magazine without some mistakes. However, there is no hesitation for us in saying that the tenacity and painstaking editing of the Kalyan have been an exception. The language of the Kalyan has always been puritanical but the way the suffixes (Pratyayas), inflexions ( Vibhaktis) and cases (Karakas) in the construction of sentences are used in the magazine are hardly approved by any journalist. That is the main linguistic drawback, as we feel, with the Kalyan but then that is its style.

  The Kalyan is coming out almost for a hundred years and that too without any advertisement support. It shows the grit and determination of the Kolkata based Trust that it would not be an instrument in purveying any exaggeration or falsity, which is largely boasted in the advertisements, for the sake of earning more profits. The credit for it largely goes to the late Shri Khemka, who died last year in Varanasi. The Social and religious organizations will do well to further his ideas and ideals by setting up some institutes and training the younger generation to sincerely follow him.   

 

Digitalisation of Currency will Revolutionise the Money Circulation

 Digitalisation of Currency will Revolutionise the Money Circulation

The biggest announcement that has been made in this year’s budget is that of the introduction of digital currency. It will, without doubt, revolutionise and transform the transaction of money sooner than we think. Evasion of taxes will become a thing of the past, but the biggest advantage of this currency will be savings in the printing cost of the currency notes. Year after year a very large number of notes become useless due to wear and tear. Counterfeit currency notes have also caused huge damage to the economy. So by adopting blockchain technology, there cannot be any threat of counterfeit currency because nothing can be tampered with in this method. People adopt many tactics to get torn notes into circulation. One could see long queues outside some banks to change the torn and soiled notes. Some people also make a quick business by exchanging the old notes with new ones.

Tax evaders normally keep huge amounts of currency notes, which is also known as black money. But when all transactions are made through digital currency, every Rupee will stand accounted for. The ordinary man will not have to worry at all, but those who indulge in the black money business will have to spend sleepless nights. This will be another gain for the country. One can say that when a large number of people of our country, who have no access or knowledge of handling the transactions through digital technology will be disadvantaged. But there is no truth in it. Any technology takes very little time to be imbibed by the common folk. When electricity was invented, many people were even afraid of going near the switch points or plugs. Very lately, when mobile phones were introduced, it was unthinkable of an illiterate person to use them but now there is hardly anybody even in remote areas, who does not use mobile phones.

Think of those days when there were no currency notes. One had to make transactions only through coins, which included silver and gold as well. It was very difficult to carry or protect them from thieves and robbers. So, when currency notes were introduced, they provided a lot of relief, particularly to businesspersons. Then came another relief of money orders for sending money from one place to another and one person to another. Cheques and drafts came much later but this facility could be used only by those who were privileged to have bank accounts. The average time in getting the cheques encashed used to be from a week in the same town to nearly a month in other cities or towns.

When we were students in the university, we had to anxiously look towards the postmen to deliver the money order and they invariably used to make some money from the recipient in the name of Baksheesh. In rural areas, the postmen used to take Rs five to ten for every hundred Rs from a recipient of the money order. Some of the postmen used to make more money through this illegal gratification than their salaries.

Now even before the introduction of digital currency, one can transfer money from one place to other through Apps like UPI and Payphone in a jiffy without any hassle. The only thing that is required is that one should have a cell phone connected to the internet and a bank account. We can only imagine fathoming the economic and technological backwardness that till a few years ago more than 30 crore citizens of the country did not have any access to the bank facility. So, when the Prime Minister vigorously campaigned for having bank accounts by everybody with zero balance, there were many cynical who used to laugh at it. But today we can see the benefits of a direct bank transfer scheme for the disbursement of subsidies and other monetary benefits to kisans etc.

This is the time to welcome the introduction of digital currency. This will not only completely transform the system of money circulation but will help stem corruption.