Remove ignorance through knowledge

|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||

॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 14.2॥

इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः ।

सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च ॥

भावार्थ : 

इस ज्ञान में स्थिर होकर वह मनुष्य मेरे जैसे स्वभाव को ही प्राप्त होता है, वह जीव न तो सृष्टि के प्रारम्भ में फिर से उत्पन्न ही होता हैं और न ही प्रलय के समय कभी व्याकुल होता हैं। (२)

Meaning:

Those who have taken refuge in this knowledge, and have attained identity with me, are not born even during creation, and not afflicted during dissolution.

Explanation:

Actors who work in the daily soap opera world lead interested lives. If an actor is selected to play a part in a well-established and long running soap, they are overjoyed since their career has just skyrocketed. But once the actor is selected, they are afraid when they read each day’s script, since their role can be killed off at any time by the director. The director and actor have two different visions. The director is concerned with moving the story forward, whereas the actor is concerned with preserving his role.

 

Now, if we identify with the various roles or the various parts that we play each day, we will face a fate similar to that of the actor. We experience birth and death every day, every minute, throughout our lives. When we get a new job, for instance, a new "senior manager of marketing" is born. When we lose that job, that senior manager "dies". If a marriage happens in the family, several new "in-laws" are born. If something goes wrong in that marriage, all those in-laws "die". If something makes us angry, an angry man is born, and will die in a short while once the anger dissipates. Birth and death are part and parcel of Prakriti's functioning.

 

Shri Krishna urges us to identify with Ishvara so that we are not disturbed or agitated when any kind of birth or death, even that of our own body, occurs. If the actor has the same vision as the director, he will take the end of his role in good stead and go on to do a wonderful job in his next assignment. If we have removed our ignorance through knowledge, if we have realized our true nature as identical to that of Ishvara, we will see things from Ishvara’s perspective and stop identifying with the ups and downs experienced by our body.

 

How exactly does this creation, this birth take place? Shri Krishna explains next.

Continuously Chant The mantra you have faith in 

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कमल नाथ तिवारी के जीवन पर आधारित फिल्‍म शहीद -ए- आज़म, एक अनकही कहानी

कमल नाथ तिवारी के जीवन पर आधारित फिल्‍म शहीद -ए- आज़म, एक अनकही कहानी

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आजादी की लड़ाई में देश के जाबाज सपूतों को स्‍मृति से हिंदी फिल्‍म ‘शहीदे – ए – आजम, एक अनकही कहानी’ 15अगस्‍त को रिलीज हो रही है। काजल क्राफ्ट एंड विजन के साथ साईं रिकार्ड्स एंटरटेनमेंट व कृष राज एंटरटेनमेंट के बैनर तले बन रही इस फिल्‍म का पोस्‍ट प्रोडक्‍शन अब अंतिम समय में है।

बिहार के चम्पारण निवासी अरुण कुमार पाठक के द्वारा निर्देशित यह फिल्म इतिहास के कई अनछुए पहलुओं को उजागर करती नज़र आएगी, जो देशभक्ति के नए प्रतिमान स्‍थापित करेगा। स्वतंत्रता संग्राम में क्रांतिकारी भूमिका में रहे कमल नाथ तिवारी के जीवन पर आधारित इस फिल्‍म में शहीदे आजम भगत सिंह के शहादत के बाद 1931 से 1947उनके जलाए आजादी के लौ को उनके साथी क्रांतिकारी कमल नाथ तिवारी ने आगे बढ़ाया.

यूं तो देशभक्ति और सरदार भगत सिंह के पर कई फिल्‍में बनी हैं, मगर भगत सिंह के बाद उनके साथियों की कहानी पर किसी का ध्‍यान नहीं गया. ऐसे ही एक अनछुए स्वतंत्र क्रन्तिकारी कमल नाथ पर फिल्म निर्माण, निर्देशक अरुण कुमार पाठक का प्रयास सराहनीय है। फिल्‍म के सभी कलाकार नए हैं। फिल्‍म में मुख्‍य भूमिका में हैं निखिल सिंह, राहुल, शिबू गिरी, राजवीर, प्रशांत, रुद्रा, सुनील सिंह। फिल्म में संगीतकार दामोदर राव के संगीत से सजी एक से बढ़ कर एक गाने हैं, जो आप लोगों को खूब मनोरंजन करेगी।

फिल्‍म के बारे में निर्देशक अरुण कुमार पाठक ने बताते हैं कि ये देश आजाद हुआ था 1947 में, और सरदार भगत सिंह जी की शहादत हो गयी थी 1931 में। उनकी शहादत के बाद 16 साल में क्या हिंदुस्तान में अंग्रेजों के खिलाफ क्रांति नही हुई ? अगर हुई तो किसने की ? शहीद ए आज़म को फाँसी हुई किसकी गवाही पर हुई ? उस गद्दार का क्या हश्र हुआ ? उस हश्र को अंजाम किसने दिया ? आज तक सभी फ़िल्म मेकर शहीद ए आज़म के जन्म से फ़िल्म शुरू करते आये हैं और उनकी शहादत के बाद फ़िल्म खत्म।

उन्‍होंने कहा कि देश की आज़ादी के बाद क्यों सरदार भगत सिंह जी के प्रमुख मित्र और उनके प्रमुख क्रांतिकारी रणनीतिकार को गुमनाम रखा गया, इस पर से पर्दा उठती है फिल्‍म ‘शहीद-ए-आज़म, एक अनकही कहानी’। यह एक ऐसी फिल्म है जैसी न किसी ने देखी होगी न इसकी कल्पना तक की होगी। 4 साल के रिसर्च के बाद आपके सामने 15अगस्‍त को आपके सिनेमा घरों में प्रदर्शित होगी।

बता दें कि फिल्‍म के निर्माता-निर्देशक और कथाकार अरुण कुमार पाठक हैं। फिल्‍म में पटकथा अविनाश पांडे फतेपुरी की है, संगीत दामोदर राव, गीत फणींदर राव, अभिनाश पांडेय, सतेंदर मिश्रा, पवन शर्मा के हैं। गायक विनोद राठौर,कल्पना, खुशबू जैन, यस वडाली, मोहन राठौर, ममता राउत, मनोज मिश्रा, रुपेश मिश्रा और प्रचारक रंजन सिन्‍हा और संजय भूषण पटियाला है।

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...and they say Mind reads pictures.

Cryobanks International to expand network in Bihar

Cryobanks International India, a cord blood stem cell banker, is eying to expand its network in Bihar where awareness of stem cell banking is still very low, a company official said.

"We will expand our network across the state to create more awareness among people to come forward for stem cell banking," company's marketing head Ashim Ghazi said.

He said till now 18 to 20 umbilical cord blood stem cells were collected from Bihar on an average per month. "So far about 200 parents have stored samples of umbilical cord blood stem cells."

Ghazi said 14,000 of 35,000 samples collected for stem cell banking in India were with Cryobanks International India.

Falgun Sah, medical adviser of Cryobanks International India, said nearly 10,000 people across the world were being treated through stem cell therapy but in India the number is as low as 25 to 30.

Cryobanks International India provides a programme for families that wish to store their baby's stem cells and another for those who prefer to donate.

Bihar curbs medicine that kills vultures

The Bihar government has decided to check the use of anti-inflammatory Diclofenac medicine in treatment of animals as the drug accumulates in the tissues of carcasses and is leading to the death of vultures.

Bihar Animal Resources and Fisheries Minister Ramanarayan Mandal said Friday: "I was told by experts that vultures suffer from renal failure and die after consuming the Diclofenac accumulated in the tissues of the dead animals. 

"We have directed not to go for veterinary use of Diclofenac to save vultures and to help increase their numbers," Mandal told IANS. 

The minister said that in May 2006 the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had asked all state drug controllers to phase out Diclofenac from the veterinary use within three months.

DCGI issued another circular in 2008 asking all state drug controllers to direct manufacturers of Diclofenac to label it "not for veterinary use".

Despite the notes, rampant use of Diclofenac continued in Bihar. 

Once a common site in the state, vultures have seen a steep decline in numbers in the last decade.

"Vultures are now spotted mainly in Bhagalpur, Supaul, Araria and Khagaria districts," an animal resources department official said.

Global animals group to help flood-prone Bihar save livestock

As saving human lives is the priority of BIhar, which is annually ravaged by devastating floods, the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) has now stepped in to help the state protect its cattle during natural calamities.

"The WSPA has selected Bihar, the first state in India, to help to save the livestock," Philip Russel, director of the disaster management wing of the WSPA, said here Wednesday.

The WSPA has chosen Bihar as the state sees a huge loss of livestock during recurring floods, particularly when the Kosi river breaches its embankment like last year. Over 19,000 livestock perished during the floods in Bihar last year and the state has no focused approach yet to save them. 

Russel said the WSPA would provide relief and rehabilitation to animals in distress following flood or drought.

He was here to attend a two-day international seminar on disaster management for livestock that began Tuesday.

Russel told IANS that working to protect animals in flood-prone Bihar would be a challenge for the WSPA, which is all set to open its first veterinary emergency response unit of the country in Patna. 

"A team of the WSPA would go and conduct a mock drill for evacuation of animals by the end of this year in a village in one of the flood-prone districts of Supaul, Saharsa or Madhepura," he said.

The WSPA would also train veterinary doctors about methods of safe evacuation during natural disasters.

Russel said several countries were now recognizing the need for laws to protect the livestock population.

The curious case of monsoon

When it rains, it pours - when it doesn't, you can only wait. That was the situation of the monsoon that has 'officially' hit most parts of the country, but has been elusive in Delhi and has kept Maharashtra "worried". 

Delhiites rejoiced in the rain early Wednesday but only for a few hours - after which the humidity set in.

"Delhi has received no rain since 8.30 a.m. Wednesday," an official said.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of Punjab and Haryana and isolated parts of north Rajasthan. 

"Widespread rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places over east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim are likely during the next two to three days. Over northeastern states during the next three to four days, isolated extremely heavy rainfall (25 cm) is expected over Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh," a senior IMD offical said.

The weather might have changed for the better in the national capital but not the mood of the people as protests continued Wednesday over power cuts and water shortage.

"Na bijli, na paani, yeh kaisi rajdhani?" (No power, no water - what kind of a capital is this?) chanted angry residents in some parts of the national capital.

In some areas, irate residents of the capital protested the erratic water supply by shouting slogans and breaking earthern pots in the middle of the road. 

In Punjab and Haryana, the weatherman seemed to have got it correct as monsoon reached all regions of the two states Wednesday.

The Chandigarh Met department recorded 16.2 mm of rain in the city in the last 24 hours.

There were spells of moderate to heavy rainfall in most of regions of Punjab and Haryana, and there has been a dip in the mercury by five to six degrees Celsius across the two states.  

Up north in Himachal Pradesh, the southwest monsoon remained active Wednesday and the state experienced intermittent showers, weather officials in Shimla said.

"The monsoon remained active all over the state in the past 24 hours," Shimla meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS.

In Bihar too the rain gods smiled as it rained well in many parts of the state. 

Patna Met Office director S. I. Lashkar said that monsoon has finally arrived in Bihar and rains were reported from different parts of the state in the past 72 hours. 

More rains are expected in the coming days, he added.

There has been heavy to extremely heavy rains in the northeast with the monsoon getting active over the region in the past 24 hours. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya witnessed heavy to extremely heavy rains, while the rainfall was isolated over Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram, according to the regional meteorological centre in Guwahati.

According to forecasts, there would be widespread rain in the northeast in the next 48 hours, with the region expecting between 25 to 35 cm rains.

The world's wettest spot Cherrapunjee in Meghalaya recorded 43 cm rains in the past 24 hours.

In Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, however, the monsoon scenario continues to cause concern to the authorities and people alike. 

Usually, July is the wettest month of the season, but the weather bureau has forecast only a few spells of rain or thundershowers in Mumbai city and suburbs during the next 48 hours.

The municipal corporation of Greater Mumbai has warned that only 20 days' water supply is available for Mumbai, while the state government is contemplating supplying water every alternate day till the rains normalise.

There were no rains in Kolkata Wednesday even though the sky was cloudy.

However, monsoon rains lashed the metropolis and West Bengal Tuesday. The highest rainfall of 51 mm was recorded in Burdwan district Tuesday, according to the Met Office. Five people died after a lightning struck them at Ketugram in the district, police said.

Buddhist monks pray for rain in Bihar

Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Bihar have been performing special prayers and rituals at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya to appease the rain god and end the ongoing dry spell in the state.

"We began special puja from Thursday at the Mahabodhi temple of Bodh Gaya to seek blessings of god for rains. Our puja will continue till Aug 12," in-charge of Bodh Gaya centre of Mahabodhi Society of India P. Sivali Thera told IANS.

Bodh Gaya is considered the birthplace of Buddhism. Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment about 2,550 years ago at this place.

Thera said the Buddhist monks have been performing special puja for rain under the holy Bodhi tree at the temple. The monks will perform prayers for seven days under the tree.

He said monks from dozens of monasteries at Bodh Gaya and several other monks from different countries have been participating in the prayers.

Earlier, Muslims and Hindu priests performed prayers for rain at several places across the state.

Lack of rain has been a concern for millions of farmers in Bihar as transplanting of paddy seedlings has been badly hit. Bihar has recorded a 43 percent rainfall deficit so far this monsoon season.

The state government admitted that drought-like situation was prevailing in 32 of 38 districts in Bihar. A crisis management team, headed by Chief Secretary Anup Mukharjee, was set up to suggest measures to tackle the situation.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called an all-party meeting in Patna Sunday to plan succour to farmers and check crop damages. Earlier, he held a high-level meeting Wednesday to review the situation.

Bihar government is considering declaring at least 12 districts drought-hit. The government will declare the districts drought-hit on Aug 9 or 10 after ministers submit their assessment reports. 

The ministers have been asked to assess the situation in their respective districts along with district officials and submit their reports at the earliest, an official said.

Amartya Sen welcomes government's Right to Food Act

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen Saturday praised the government's draft for a Right to Food (Guarantee of Safety and Security) Act saying it was a "step in the right direction". 

"In my new book, 'The Idea of Justice', I have spoken about injustice. Inequitable distribution of food and malnourishment is one of the injustices. I think it is to the credit of the government that it is planning to bring about the Right to Food Act. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi are in the right territory. It is a step in the right direction,” Sen said addressing a discussion on Right To Food at a packed Press Club here.

Sen was in the capital to promote his new book, “The Idea of Justice”.  

"Recently, I spent some time at Nalanda, Gaya, Rajgir and Patna in Bihar and found that there was a change in the administration even in the backward areas. A wider cross-section of people had access to food and it showed how change people's initiative and a good leadership can bring about,” he said. 

The Right To Food Act is an integral component of the United Progressive Alliance's proposed National Food Security Bill mentioned in the budget speech under which the every poor family would get 25 kg of food grain per month at Rs.3 per kg. 

It was also part of the Congress's election manifesto.  

Outlining the food scenario in the country, Sen said the magnitude of malnourishment, especially in woman, mothers, children and babies at birth, in India was tremendous. 

"No other country comes close to India. Most of the African nations have lower levels of child malnourishment. It is a situation of manifest injustice and we have the means to remove it but there is a certain level of smugness about India's achievements. The most difficult and nasty thing about malnourishment is that incapacitates the mind and debilitates the body,” Sen said. 

The economist said one must recognise that “poverty, lack of food, illnesses and state of education in India were closely linked - and were of the same magnitude”.

"Though the public distribution system has achieved something quite considerable, it still merited a depth of probe on effective were the distribution networks. There is a general perception that if the supply of food has been ensured, then the poor do not need the employment guarantee scheme. But the way of getting to all is through diverse necessities (addressing all their needs),” Sen said. 

The economist's West Bengal-based organisation, Pratichi Trust, working in food security and education sectors across the country, is currently studying facilities under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and how it applies to children under below six years of age in six districts of West Bengal.

"We have studied the ICDS scheme in some areas of West Bengal and a few tribal districts of Jharkhand and found a number of defects. As an economist, I would be very happy if these flaws could be removed. There is need for a multiplicity of delivery system and NGOs have a very important role to play in universalising the ICDS system so that it reached everyone,” Sen said. 

Commenting on the mid-day meal scheme, Sen said: “What Europe introduced in the 19th century, India was getting it 200 years later. 

“Lot of relatively richer kids in India complain that they don't want to eat with the poor kids in schools for they can get food in their tiffin carriers. The media in this country is obsessed with the rich kids. Consequently, the quality of food gets more importance than the fact that the scheme is getting to some people. We have to defend the mid-day meal schemes so that the poorest schools do not lose the grants and benefits they have,” Sen, who teaches at Harvard University in US, said.

“It was easier to teach children in a full stomach than hungry children who could not concentrate and had short attention spans.”  

The discussion was hosted by an umbrella of non-profit groups campaigning for the right to food.

Human trafficking on the rise in Bihar

The Bihar government Friday admitted that there has been a marked increase in the number of women and children being smuggled from the state since the launch of its Human Trafficking Prevention Programme in 2007. 

Bihar Water Resources Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav told IANS that over 50 cases of human trafficking had been registered till July this year. There were 50 cases in 2008 and 21 in 2007.

The minister had told the state assembly last week that 128 human traffickers were arrested in 2009 and 91 women were freed from their clutches. 

Most cases were reported from Kishanganj, Purnia, Araria, Katihar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani and Saharsa.

Yadav said it was a matter of serious concern that human trafficking was on the rise though special cells had been set up to initiate effective measures to check the crime.

The state government launched the Human Trafficking Prevention Programme for checking smuggling of women and child labourers and ensure a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme for the victims.

A senior police official said Bihar had become a hub of human trafficking due to large scale poverty and illiteracy. 

Officials in the social welfare department said that last year's devastating floods in the Kosi region had provided a golden opportunity to human traffickers to target poverty stricken people.

According to a report prepared by the state government along with NGOs, most children smuggled from the state end up as bonded labourers, domestic workers and employees at roadside restaurants or small textile units. 

Most young girls are either forced to marry men from Punjab and Haryana or work in brothels.

Poverty, hunger drive elderly couple in Bihar to suicide

Poverty and hunger forced an elderly couple in a Bihar village to commit suicide, villagers said Sunday. However, a local official maintained the couple died of cancer but was unable to explain how the deaths occurred at the same time.

Farm labourers Inderdeo Mahto and his wife Kari Devi, both in their 60s and residents of Khushalpur village in Gaya district, allegedly consumed poison Saturday after going without food for days as they found no work since early July, villagers claimed. The village is about 100 km from Patna. 

"They were left in the lurch, no one helped them and hunger forced them to commit suicide," Manoj Prasad, a villager, said.

"Mahto and his wife used to work as farm labourers to earn their livelihood but for over a month, there was no work available because of the drought like situation and people were reluctant to hire them for other jobs due to their age. He was not supported by his two sons, both of whom live separately and also work as labourers," Suresh Singh, another resident of the village, said.

Village council head Rambha Devi also told IANS Sunday that the couple died due to poverty and hunger. 

The names of the couple reportedly did not figure in the list of those below poverty line (BPL). Villagers said the couple had requested authorities to add their names to the list but this was not done. However, both of Mahto's sons figure in the list.

Block Development Officer (BDO) Shivnarain Singh said the couple died of cancer but was unable to explain how the deaths occurred at the same time.

Police have recovered the bodies and sent them for post mortem. A case has been filed.

Scanty rainfall has affected millions of farmers in Bihar as transplanting of paddy seedlings has been badly hit. The state has seen a deficit of 43 percent rainfall so far in this monsoon season. 

The state government admitted that a drought-like situation was prevailing in 32 of the state's 38 districts and has set up a crisis management team, headed by Chief Secretary Anup Mukherjee, for measures to tackle the situation. 

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called an all-party meeting here Sunday to discuss the issue. The government is considering declaring some worst affected districts drought-hit.