Do we really need a "RELIGION" to do good

India’s rich history and culture are deeply rooted in religion, resulting in the birth of some of the world’s major religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. 

This religious diversity and religious tolerance are established in the country both by the law and custom and a vast majority of Indians associate themselves with one religion or the other. 

Ancient India has shown that separate religions can co-exist together in harmony. Many great works of art, literature, breakthroughs in medicine, science, among other things have been the end result of this peaceful lull in history.

However, due to the invasion of foreigners over the past few centuries, there has been too much bloodshed to ignore the fact that not everyone wants to live in harmony anymore. Theologies of the invading religions are in stark contrast to the already existing ones, wanting to assimilate and repress the native thoughts of process. This is reached by any means possible: from forceful conversion in the past, threatened with torture and death, to emotional blackmail of the present, sweet-talking their way into house and home until it is too late to realize what is being destroyed. Both of these conversions have brought in too much hatred and segregation to want to really, truly understand what the MAIN concept is behind each religion or thought behind the concept of God.

If Ancient India could co-exist peacefully and produce amazing achievements, then what is stopping Modern India from emulating the past and do the same again?

In your opinion - the READER of this post - how would you like to see India advance? Is religion now only a hindrance? Can we do away with the hatred created over the past centuries so we could live in harmony instead, looking at others NOT as a Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Muslim etc., but as a HUMAN BEING FIRST?

Akshit Kapoor

Measuring Spiritual Growth

Shakespeare echoed the central theme of the Upanishads when he said in ‘As You Like It’ – “All the world’s a stage, / And all men and women merely players; / They have their exits and their entrances...”. Vedanta speaks of sakshi bhava or ‘witness attitude’ as a measure of spiritual growth. Objectivity is the key to material success, happiness as well as growth to one’s potential. Maintain the attitude of an observer, never getting entangled. Be impartial in all circumstances, non-partisan; unbiased, unprejudiced. Be like a spectator in a boxing match. If you jump into the ring you could get beaten up by both parties.

You are an actor in the drama of life. Play your role wholeheartedly, dispassionately, perfectly and exit gracefully when the time comes. Don’t get entangled in a make-believe world.

Atman, the spirit, is completely objective. It enables all your activities but has nothing to do with their functioning. Just as fuel propels all cars to move but does not determine their performance. Electricity is the same in all gadgets but is not responsible for manifestations.

At Kurukshetra, Arjuna is overwhelmed by emotion. Grief-stricken, he refuses to perform his duty. He asks Krishna, his friend and mentor, for help. Krishna’s opening remarks in the Bhagwad Gita are,“The wise do not grieve either for the living or the dead. All grief is because of wrong identification and attachment”. You believe that the cause of your misery is out there in the world. You blame the spouse, kids, the government and even the weather for your unhappiness. As long as you believe the world is causing you sorrow, there will never be a solution to your problems.

You are responsible for your sorrow. As long as you identify with the body, mind and intellect, you will be unhappy. These instruments are matter as world is also matter. Matter affects matter, just as magnet attracts iron. You are neither body, mind nor intellect; you are spirit. The world does not have the power to affect the spirit but you think it does because of your involvement with body, mind and intellect. Just remember you are atman and interact with body, mind and intellect. Then you will remain a sakshi, witness, of everything but never get involved.

You go through three states of consciousness – waking, dream and deep sleep – all projections of your mind. The real you is atman, the fourth state. Live life as if you are re-entering a dream, knowing its illusory nature, tongue-in-cheek, objectively, joyfully. Do what you have to do, without involvement, entanglement or heartburn.

Objectivity is the secret of enjoyment. You are able to enjoy a tragic movie because you know you are not a part of it. Had you been even remotely connected with the happenings in the movie you would suffer. Practise objectivity by observing the world around you. Observe external objects, people around you, their appearance, emotions, and thoughts. Then shift your attention to your own body, mind and intellect. You will be in an oasis of peace and tranquillity in the midst of turbulence around.

The mind is the realm of emotions and feelings; the intellect is of reason, discrimination and judgement. The mind is involved, attached and partisan. The intellect is capable of remaining objective, unbiased and unprejudiced. Use your intellect, strengthen it so you are objective in all situations. From such an impersonal viewpoint, you will find life entertaining.


Akshit Kapoor

Bhangarh – India’s Haunted City

It has lain abandoned for the best part of 400 years and is said to be the most haunted place in India. Situated between the cities of Delhi and Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan the true reason for its abandonment has been lost to history, though there are several legends surrounding its fate. Even today no-one is allowed to enter the ghost city of Bhangarh after twilight – it is said that if they do they will never return. 

Within the grounds there are still majestic temples to major Hindu deities: Shiva, Lavina Devi and Gopinath are represented among others but the throngs of worshipers who clamoured for entrance to the temple are long gone. The town was first built in the reign of Bhagwant Das, a powerful maharaja, in 1573. It is said that a local guru was asked for permission to build the city.

The guru, Balu Nath, allowed the city to be built but made a single condition. His own dwelling place was close by and he demanded that it should, at all time, be out of the shadow of Bhangarh. Should his retreat ever come under the shadow of the royal residences the city and its inhabitants would be doomed.

Soon, the city was home to a population of over 10,000. Many of its non-religious buildings were also built from stone – a sign of the prosperity that the place must have enjoyed, let alone the expectation of the population that they were there for a very long time.

Bhangarh gained the reputation for ostentatious displays of wealth in its architecture and its people for their decadence. They were supposedly commanded by the maharajah to wear their finery at all times, paid for out of his own unimaginable wealth. Their thoughts turned to living life as profligately and dissolutely as possible. Cultures all over the world have tales of cities descending in to this kind of lifestyle, so you have probably guessed what comes next.

Yet it is said that Balu Nath’s command was forgotten within a generation and that the son of the maharaja, Chhatr Singh, decided to extend his palace, building several new floors and increasing its height considerably. Shortly after, a still unspecified calamity overcame the city.

Historians believed the town’s decline was at first due to conquest. Yet the buildings remain remarkably intact for their age and show no sign of warfare having been conducted in or around the city. The fort and almost complete walls are still surprisingly intact. It is now thought that the city’s desertion was most probably down to a natural disaster in the area and that contributed to the decline.

Another myth concerns a beautiful princess, Ratnavati. A young magician fell in love with her but knew that his feelings would never be reciprocated. So, he made a magic oil which would hypnotise the princess in to giving herself to him. However the wily princess was versed in the dark arts herself and knowing the potion was enchanted, threw it upon the ground.

There, the potion transformed in to a rock and crushed the hapless magician. His final words were a curse on the princess and the palace. Within the year there was a great battle and the princess became one of its many victims. Whether or not you believe in legends it is a compelling story, culturally familiar to most.

Whatever caused the situation the city was no longer a center of local administration after 1630. A tiny population eked a living among the remains of the buildings. Those who survived the previous catastrophe left Bhangarh never to return after a terrible famine in 1783.

They left the stone buildings intact behind them. Unusually, the stones were never reused for other building projects, which only added to the reputation of the place as haunted.

Today the city is a popular tourist attraction. To facilitate the visitors a small village of around 1000 souls has sprung up at its periphery. The villagers will tell you stories of the town coming alive at night, that you can hear the sound of music and laughter coming from within. Yet none will dare enter to investigate


Akshit Kapoor

The Inner Meaning of Guru Purnima

Guru is one who is “heavy” (with knowledge, wisdom and inner experience) and hence holds us fast lest we be swept by the waves of ignorance and be drowned in the ocean of material existence. Traditionally, a Guru is a God Realized Being – one who has merged with Divinity and remains back on earth to teach those who yearn for Divinity. 

All existence has come from the Supreme Brahman and nothing exists apart from Divinity. All creation is veiled by maya or illusion and it is difficult for us to know or understand Divinity. In great compassion, Divinity manifested a portion of itself which retains the memory of Godhood and sent it to teach us. This is the Guru. Only God can be Guru as only God knows God!

We obtain information and knowledge from schools and colleges which helps us to earn a livelihood. The knowledge and wisdom imparted by the Guru helps us to live in the right manner. The wisdom imparted by the Guru helps us to set benchmarks for ourselves and we are propelled to reach out and attain higher standards in thought, word and deed. The light of the Guru penetrates every nook and corner of our lives and being and we see the world and life anew and afresh. We realize our inner potential and develop to the fullest extent under the guidance of the Guru. The Grace of the Guru helps us to finally merge with Divinity.

There are as many paths to God as there are people. Each of us is a unique being with a different approach to God. Hence we have a large number and variety of Gurus. Sri Krishna speaks of a variety of paths in the Bhagwad Geeta – karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, japa yoga, dhyana yoga etc. Each Guru imparts the knowledge, wisdom and practices best suited to his disciple.

Nowadays, any person who imparts knowledge or wisdom or unique insight is labelled ‘Guru’. We have Internet Gurus, Management Gurus, Music and Dance Gurus, Drama Gurus, Storytellers, Horoscope Readers and Palmists who are Gurus , Exercise Gurus and Think Positive Gurus and so on. They too have their roles in making our lives better.

Veda Vyasa classified and codified the huge findings, knowledge, wisdom and experiences of the Rishis of India into Vedas, Upanishads, Puranans and the great epic of Mahabharata. His literary works are extraordinary and their high spiritual stature and wisdom make them outstanding. His works guide us even today and hence he is a great ‘Loka Guru’ – a Guru to the world!

The Guru Purnima is a day dedicated to honor Veda Vyasa and the Gurus who guide and steer our lives towards Divinity. With so many ‘Gurus’ in our lives, it is also a day when we should think of each of them with gratitude and reverence for help rendered in our times of need. Let this day of Guru Purnima be filled with love and appreciation to all the Gurus in our life. Let us also do our bit in serving our Gurus in thanksgiving.

Akshit Kapoor

Ancient Indian Contributions to Physics

India was way ahead of WEST but the achievements has not been "MARKETED" or discussed enough to matter. 

Akshit Kapoor

GREAT WALL OF INDIA

Did you know there is a GREAT WALL OF INDIA protecting 360 temples from outsiders?


Kumbhalgarh - We have all heard of the Great Wall of China, but few know that India also has its own “Great Wall of India”, that has been long overshadowed by its neighbour to the East. Commonly called after the fort it surrounds, Kumbhalgarh, it is almost unknown outside its region.

The wall extends for 36kms and can easily be mistaken for the Great Wall of China if viewed at through photographs. Contrary to the latter, however, work on Kukbhalgarh began in 1443, separating the two not only through locations and cultures but many centuries as well.

Rana Kumbha, local Maharana of Rajasthan ordered the work to begin on this wall, originally meant to surround and protect his fort high on a hill, about 1000 meters above sea level. It was later enlarged in the 19th century and the place is now a museum. The walls have seven gateways and are over fifteen feet wide in some places. The inhabitants of Kubhalgarh, the fertile land and over 360 temples behind these walls were protected from any outside danger. The temples were built by followers of the three major religions of India: Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Legend has it that despite several attempts, the wall could not be completed for one reason or the other. Finally the king consulted one of his spiritual advisers and was advised that a sacrifice be made, and a volunteer offered his life so that others will be protected. Today, the main gate stands where his body fell and a temple where his severed head came to rest. The fortress behind the walls only fell once over the course of its five hundred years of history, but only because drinking water ran out within its walls.

Tourists visiting these grounds are warned of ancient defense mechanism and traps, although most of them have been disabled. This beautiful monument to history however still remains much of a mystery and is almost unknown to the rest of the world outside India

Akshit Kapoor

Great hedge of the nation

Did you know India was once divided by a wall that ran from Punjab to Orissa? 

Hedge that divided the Nation...

The wall was more than 4000 km long and was not built out of mortar or bricks. The wall was a hedge (row of shrubs) known as The Great Hedge or Inland Customs Line that had its beginning in 1803. The hedge was 12 feet high in some parts. 

The hedge was planted in place by East India Company to check on salt smuggling. Salt tax brought East India Company the biggest chunk of their revenue. In 1784-85 alone salt tax brought them revenue of 62,57,470 rupees. One big problem faced by the company was that salt was free to anyone who had access to salt basins or the ocean and salt was one of the most smuggled item back then due to high prices.

The line consisted of a customs post every one mile linked by raised pathways to allow people cross it every 4 miles. The hedge was finally abandoned in 1879 at which point salt tax was applied at the point of manufacture, which remained until 1946.

Akshit Kapoor