August 15, 2007, Wednesday. 60 years of Modern India
August 15,1947..... A day like none other, India gains independance,
On this day India awoke to freedom, from the tyrannical British of then,
By the path of peace - non-violence, truth showcased by civil disobiedience,
Led by the great Mahatma, Gandhiji, The Man of the 20 th century.
Yet again, set to scale the heights of glory on this new round,
As she has done in past cycles of every 500 years or so, over 5,000 years,
India, Mother India, is free, her children are not enslaved anymore -
By foreign rule or foreign goods, neither foreign ways nor foreign indoctrination.
India and her millions, be they poor or uneducated, can yet again think -
For themselves, act in accordance with their God given intellect, talent
Or be free to assemble, talk or learn, fend for themselves, be responsible -
To themselves, no more a stooge to European subjugation, British or other.
Today, at 60 years young, India is regaining her ancient composure,
She is a beauty like none other, grace and integrity still adorn her brow
Truth and Ahimsa, as her founding Father taught, still in practice,
If not amidst her politicians, certainly amidst much of her billion plus people.
What is amazing, to those who have come to take a second glance at her,
Is that she is not just a-has-been, or a nobody, as many had thought would be,
On the contrary she is dazzling beauty of The East and South, ever more beautiful -
Than the half a dozen Miss World's and Miss Universe's India has given birth to.
Yet this beauty is not just skin deep, for she is a beauty with brains as well,
Oh yes, She is more sparkling than the diamonds she exports, rare Gem she is,
India is an angel on the Planet who still keeps her humility, friend of all, foe of none,
Yet challenged to prove her innocence, for there are those who covet her, yet again.
The past certainly repeats itself as history teaches us, and we seldom learn from it,
May we on this round, not repeat history where we ought to have taken a few lessons,
During this return - this renaissance, may we lead the world in the path of peace, truth,
As Mahatma taught us, for the world needs it ever so badly at this juncture in history.
How may we do that, and what can you and I as individuals do to promote peace ??
The answer is a simple one, a challenge: Pray, seek the divine, in every human being,
For within every human being resides a creative soul, beneath every color and country,
As fellow citizens of the Planet first, let us learn and teach, to live and let live in peace.
As we are the world's third biggest economy, a GDP of over 3.33 Trillion $, yes, no less,
And the world's largest democracy at a Billion and a hundred fifty some million or so, yes,
A giant in the software arena, the future programer of the world, let us dedicate our Nation
To the quest for learning, as inspired by India's Ganesha and Saraswati, Lords of learning.
If there is a thing we can offer the world, as the enlightened one taught us, "Knowledge"
Overcome ignorance which is the cause of all evil, of pain, war, misery, strife, and other,
Nirvana, Moksha, Salvation, Enlightenment, all knowledge based - as is today's economy,
In this new yuga - as Buddha taught, lead with the mind, in this era of knowledge revolution.
What may we set as a goal ? What can we offer ourselves as a gift to the world at large ?
Education, my friends, and passionately, this seeking of knowledge, peacefully, for all,
In india as well as all over the world.. Let us make India and the world 100% literate,
Let us become the champions of literacy, the world over, let that be our mantra.
Yes, much of the world has a rate of literecy below 50% and many parts of India as well,
A shame, we can wipe out, and put a smile on the face of the world, instead of the smear,
Let us use the internet, books, slate, ground or sand - draw not just a line in the sand,
Rather alphabets, letters, words, teach the world to read and write, a simple thing.
If we champion this cause and adopt the strategy of "each one teach one", human beings
Will be transformed the world over, for learning to read and write, is a fundamental right,
A right, like other rights, to vote or to be free, which we have championed, in the past,
At this hour, on this day, in these times, one goal, we can do it by the time we are 70.
Yes, a good decade from today, when India celebrates her 70 th, in 2017
We can hold the flag higher, and be glad we have fullfilled our destiny, leading the world,
To recovery from the brink of disaster, war, waste, ignorance, annihilation, avarice,
To that golden age of enlightenment, the age of the global renaisaance. Let India awaken.
Once we awakened, as we did in the last century, we now have to awaken the world,
And we must awaken our own conciousness, our own kundalini within us, about us,
Transforming the world, one person at a time, one day at a time, one byte by one byte,
Bit by bit, one word at a time, get the world to become literate, we have no other mission.
As our great poets like Tagore, Kabir, Rahim, Meera, Kalidas and others taught and sang
As our philosphers like Shanker, Ramanuja, Akber, Valmiki, Thomas and Mahavir taught,
According to the scientists like Raman, Aryabhatya, Shishrusha and innumerable others,
Let us become absorbed in learning and teaching, as did Appollo, Ganesha, Saraswati.
May we see the divine in every bird, plant or animal, may we see the divine in all humans,
May we be free of ignorance, illwill, anger or greed, may we become seekers of wisdom,
Of truth, of peace, of Ahimsa, of justice, for every human being on the planet,
May we be the Mother that provides suckle, let the world drink deep of this nector.
Yes here we come - world, watch out, not in fear or doubt, for we come as messengers -
Of peace, of prospirity, of learning, of reading, of writing, of languages, of art, of music,
Let the dance begin, let the music play, let the world that is a stage come alive to love,
Of fellow human beings, of learning and yes India. Welcome home, citizens of the world.
Happy Birthday India, 2007, August 15 th, Wednesday, Mother India beckons,
We have set ourselves the task of teaching the world, as Ashoka did, To teach, Peace,
To read and write, in 10 years, a goal we can accomplish, as the Master send them,
May God help and bless us all, to do so, to preach the good news, of Love, peace and Joy.
The world is in turmoil, the hot air that causes global warming is no less a danger -
Than the empty words of useless spineless ethicsless politicians the world over,
India must deliver on her historic strength, a motherland to all, a fatherland to the poor,
Ancient yet modern, rooted in values of integrity, she must come alive to save the planet.
The soul of the planet - yes, that is what she is, The Soul, The very Soul of Planet Earth,
Yet, we have at times fallen, like the soul of mankind, has yet to rise up with mankind
For as India goes, so goes the world... As India awakens, so will the world,
We are the Natives, and we symobolize Natives all over the world, every human being.
No Nation has withstood as we have, and no Nation has seen as many tribulations,
Yet we are here in this, the century we call 21 st or other, 56 th, 78 th or whatever century
It is India's century for sure, of peace, of non-violence, of learning, of compassion, of truth,
Land wherin Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, Krishna, Nanak, Moses, Mahavir, all co-exist.
The "Purana's" all speak of a time in future, that time is here and now, It is "Hamara",
No less a figure than Gandhiji, whom in the revered status of a Father figure tells us
That nations may come and nations may go, yet truth and peace triumphs to eternity,
Truth alone shall triumph above all else, we must hold dear that one "Sathya" of "Ahimsa".
The world is awash in violence, be it on campus or the theaters they call to war,
Kalinga's, Kurushethra's are all over here yet again, The world needs an Ashoka
Who has renounced bloodshed for its folly and seeks the wisdom of peace
As Jesus taught, Krishna enforced, Guru Nanak preached, Gandhiji practiced.
As we teach the peoples of the world the planet over to read and write, let us teach -
Of cleanliness, health, hygenine, sanitation, cause of disease, spread knowledge -
Of the how, why, where, when, what and how things happen and happen not -
Teach to seek peace above all, truth be said - it is love and forgiveness the key to life.
This magical formula known to mankind from ages, reminded again and again and again
By Sages, Saints, Prophets, Christ, Poets, Mahatma, as well as our most recent saint -
Mother Teresa Of Calcutta India, The saint of the gutter or really the Saint of the poor
Who taught by doing, that forgiveness, love of the poor, charity are all Indian qualities.
Awake India, awaken the world, however, let us begin at home.. Our own backyards
Let us clean up the railway tracks, railway stations, our bathrooms, build more toilets
Restore our rivers and lakes from the pollutted state they have become - Garbage
Here, there and everywhere in India, let us start, cleaning up, and make India a garden.
Are the politicians listening ? If they do or if they dont - it does not matter,
For we the people will rise up and do our task, and they the so called leaders -
Will follow the lead, the people are the leaders, in a democracy - India is one,
We the people of india, will lead on this 60 th birthday to a decade of Global Peace.
