A GREAT MAN

“A GREAT MAN”

We often hear the above being echoed usually upon the demise of a person. But how do you measure the greatness of a person? Would it be based on the volume of accolades the person receives? Then again how much of these are sincere appreciation, or could it be a mere politically correct gesture?

Just last week, a political champion passed away in Malaysia. Mr Karpal Singh known as the “Tiger of Jelutong” (Jelutong was the constituency he represented in the Malaysian Parliament), was also a lawyer by profession, who took on many cases pro bono. From a humble beginning Karpal Singh rose to be an eminent lawyer and a statesman. In his rise there was one commonality observed, he was humble, down to earth, a man who lived by his principles and more importantly he was always a people’s person.

Therefore I was not surprised that at his funeral, thousands of people from all walks of life paid their last respects to this great man. Never before, had Malaysia witnessed, such an outpouring of grief of this magnitude. The Chief Minister of Penang State, Mr Lim Guan Eng, summed it up very aptly in the obituary, “Your greatest legacy is not the honours bestowed by leaders or tributes by famous personalities overseas or locally, but what moved us are the tears shed by the many ordinary Malaysians who do not know you and whom you never met but yet were touched by the sacrifices you have made.”

So how would a person’s legacy remembered?

When JF Kennedy’s body was lying in state, thousands lined up in near-freezing temperatures, some reportedly waited for 10 hours just to pay their respects. Many people apparently arrived from different states of the US just to pay their respects to this man. People openly displayed emotions when the carriage bearing the casket passed by.

When M.G. Ramachandran (better known as MGR, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, India), died in 1984,  more than a million people were estimated to have been involved in the funeral procession. Further 30 people were reported to have committed suicide upon hearing of his death. People from all walks of life openly wailed while the funeral procession was in progress.

When Princess Diana passed away in 1997 it was reported that 2 billion people all over the world were glued to their television watching the state funeral broadcasted live, reportedly one of the most watched events in history. More than one million people lined the streets of London, and flowers rained down onto the cortege from bystanders. Many were seen openly crying, hugging on to each other. During the four weeks following her funeral, the suicide rate in England and Wales rose by 17% and cases of deliberate self-harm by 44.3% compared with the average for that period in the four previous years. Researchers suggest that this was caused by the "identification" effect.”

All the four individuals  mentioned above had one commonality, all of them had at one time or another touched the hearts of ordinary people.

 

The greatest legacy a person can leave behind is to be remembered for his/her humanity, all other achievements would pale in comparison. The three pillars of humanity are love, kindness and social intelligence. That reminded me of Swami Vivekananda’s words,

These individual I have mentioned above may not be Mahatmas (Great Souls), but their actions have made their existence on Earth meaningful.

Perhaps if more of us strive to be  better humans, the world would be a better place to live.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller.

Mr Karpal Singh, Fare thee well.  Gone but will forever be remembered.

Asathoma Sat Gamaya

Tamasoma Jothir Gamaya

Mirthyoma Amirtham Gamaya

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti…………

Translation of the above Sanskrit manthra from the Upanishad:

Lead us from Unreality (of Transitory Existence) to the Reality (of the Eternal Self),

Lead us from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge),

Lead us from the Fear of Death to the Knowledge of Immortality.

Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

ravivarmman@22042014

AMBEDHKAR VERSUS GANDHI

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-modernday-enlightenment/article5919496.ece?homepage=true

In response to the article above, one commonality that I observed in both Ambedkhar and  Gandhi  are their inclusive approach to their course within the ambit of religion. Gandhi sought to redress the issue of caste inequality within Hinduism, whereby Ambedhkar took refuge in Buddhism for the same.  Both leaders definitely have had created intense debate on the matter at their time, but political agenda then and now merely used their doctrine’s as how one would consume pickle in a meal.

Today India is caught in a crossroad, where the inevitable connectivity has given access to citizens across social order to information. As such, an awareness that used to be within the reach of the elite has cascaded down to the illiterate as well. To top it further, India is also experiencing huge transmigration of people across the country. The intermingling of people is creating a new diaspora of thought and action. The mobility which was once confined to the endowed, today for economic reasons has forced the rest to seek opportunity elsewhere in the country.

To add a personal experience on my family farm in Tamil Nadu, currently there more than 300 workers from Bihar, Assam and MP employed.  According to my cousins most farms in TN employ workers from those states as it is difficult to find local workers. Many of these workers, apparently after sometime bring their families to join them as well and there have been cases where intermarriage also do take place, though not prevalent yet.  

Interestingly one observation I have made in Tamil Nadu over the last few years is the greater acceptance and usage of Hindi especially in urban areas. It is well known that TN politics has always championed Tamil over Hindi, however slowly but surely, socially it is changing.

So revisiting thoughts of Ambedhkar, Gandhi, Periyaar, Vivekananda and the likes would give cue in the shaping of the socio-politico-economic landscape of India. Or perhaps not, organized chaos has always ruled in India whether in thought or action. We will never know because it is evolutionary, both the beginning and the end are mere hypothesized speculation.

WHAT?....... SPIRITUALITY.....IS THAT A NEW RELIGION?

RELIGION IS THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF SPIRITUALITY,

WHERE AN INSTITUTION EXIST, BOUNDARIES ARE CREATED,

WHERE THERE IS BOUNDARY, THEN THERE IS AN IDENTITY,

WHEN THERE IS AN IDENTITY, THEN THERE IS A NEED TO PROTECT IT,

WHEN IT NEEDS PROTECTION THEN POWER IS NEEDED,

WHEN POWER IS PRESENT THAT LEADS TO POLITICS,

WITH POLITICS, SELF CENTEREDNESS BECOMES A PREDOMINANT BEHAVIOUR,

AND THAT, PEOPLE, GOES AGAINST THE VERY EXISTENCE OF MANKIND,

SO WHAT FUNDAMENTALLY WAS THERE (SPIRITUALITY) TO HELP MANKIND TO NURTURE HAS BECOME THE VERY TOOL TOWARDS ITS ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION.

PEACE PEACE PEACE
SADHU SADHU SADHU
SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI
@ravivarmman04042014