bvpsept2008.doc https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f7810611fd&view=att&th=1267f...

IF WE ARE BHARATIYAS……

T.S.Ramakrishna

Founder & Secretary,

Earthsystem Sciences Awareness And Research Association (ESWARA)

1250 B, Road 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

91- 40 - 2360 8890 tsr@eswaraindia.org

India that is Bharat was under invasion by foreigners since more than thousand years, leading
to a gradual dilution and degradation of our culture and heritage. But the decline has been steep
since the British rule during the last two hundred years prior to independence. Paradoxically the
decline is continuing exponentially since independence acquired over sixty years ago. This is
mainly because that people who came to power after independence opted for a Western model for
the development of the country instead of the time-tested, holistic and sustainable ancient Indian
model. The tragic consequences of all that made India, which was a Super Power economically,
culturally and scientifically till as late as 1700 CE with more than 20% of world’s wealth contained
in it, ten times poorer and branded a developing country.

Bharat, which maintained an eco-friendly and peaceful culture for several centuries -if not
millennia- is fast disfiguring into a land where you have to search for Bharatiyata. But fortunately
there are still crores of people who love this country, its culture and heritage in spite of the
onslaught of western materialism and are struggling to revive the ancient Indian values of life,
based on harmony and peace not only among humans but all living beings in Nature. Our fast
changing routine and lifestyle are also eroding whatever Bahratiyata is still left. Perhaps it is time
that we restore at least some of the noble values and principles of peaceful living handed down to
us from generation to generation.

There is a conflict between the Western model based on fast-track selfish pursuits for success,
wealth, power and pleasures and the ancient Indian philosophy of austerity and bearing the short
term pain for long term good. The average Bharatiya, whose core of the heart is still very much
Indian is torn between these two philosophies, some times not knowing what is right and what is
wrong for him and some times helplessly harming himself as well as the society. It is not enough if
we pride ourselves as Bharateeyas but we should try to live like Bharatiyas to the extent possible
even under the vastly changed circumstances. We should be also conscious that notwithstanding
the benefits enjoyed by the society, modern science and technology, globalization, corporate
structure, immoral marketing methods etc are changing cultures all over the world into money
cultures. Whether it is education, medicare, social welfare or entertainment only money spinning
programs are finding support from the government and businessmen. Media, which also has
become a big business, is contributing enormously to the damage by highlighting all the time filthy
aspects of politics, crime and movies and largely ignoring the beautiful side of life and its many
facets of dedication, hard work, service, simplicity, sacrifice etc. They do not care if ‘publicity to evil
causes more damage than the evil itself’.

AGRICULTRE: After independence, we ambitiously replaced our age old practices of organic
farming by chemical farming. With sizable increase in food production, it looked a great leap
forward. Hardly half a century later, we realized that chemical farming is not only destroying our

1 of 4 1/31/2010 6:09 AM
bvpsept2008.doc https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f7810611fd&view=att&th=1267f...

land and soil but also the health of the people. Surprisingly the developed countries who have
promoted chemical farming are now realizing their folly and opting for organic farming. Perhaps we
should not have been carried away by the developed countries who have made billions selling
modern farming techniques, fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides etc to us. If we are Bharateeyas…
perhaps after independence our agricultural laboratories and universities should have
concentrated on improving our age old techniques of organic farming.

FOOD: Food and clothing of a country are generally based on the land, customs, availability, local
climate, profession etc. Local foods suit a body better than imported foods grown elsewhere on a
different land and under different climate. If we are Bharatiyas …perhaps we should largely stick
to our Indian and particularly local food habits instead of yielding to the temptation of imported
foods and junk foods. Perhaps care should be taken not to be sucked into the ICPC (Ice cream,
Chocolate, Pizza, Cola) Culture. Perhaps the parents can take trouble to convince their children of
the harmful aspects of modern foods instead of they themselves succumbing to them. Perhaps
people with families should not be eating in the hotels frequently.

DRESS & BEAUTY AIDS: It is very common for a man or woman to try to appear attractively when
coming out of the house or on special occasions. For that there are numerous simple, cheap and
safe ancient Indian practices. The use of turmeric, an excellent antiseptic has come down
drastically among Indian women. Women stopped wearing ‘Bindi’. Every festival and religious
practice of ancient India was based on some super scientific concepts and aimed at health and
well being for the people. All of us have nearly forgotten about the excellent practice of weakly oil
bath, which is so good for a healthy skin and general health. We have dropped all of them and
now flocking the super malls selling a mind boggling range of cosmetics and other beauty aids,
most of which are potentially dangerous and avoidable. If we are Bharateeyas …perhaps we can
restore the golden practices of the past that will not only give us good health but also save us a lot
of money and bother.

If we are Bharatiyas…perhaps our girls and women folk can dress more respectably instead of
copying the west. It is repulsive to see youngsters wearing T shirts with obscene captions.
Perhaps parents and grand parents should gracefully age and maintain their dignity rather than
try to look young and attractive with the help of hair dyes and cosmetics. Similarly perhaps we
should not make or encourage our small children to look like youth. It is disgusting to see small
kids clothed very uncomfortably just to look glamorous. Perhaps we should also not be tying down
infants in diapers round the clock, causing them lot of inconvenience, which they can not express!

EDUCATION: If we are Bharatiyas…perhaps our education system should change because there
is nothing Bharatiya about it. Every thing we study is imported. The ‘topper mania’, ‘Eamcet mania’
etc – which are more among the parents than the students- are causing enormous stress and
turbulence in the families and destroying the morale of the children – a few of them even
committing suicide. Children are drifting away from arts and noble sciences to become computer
coolies to earn bigger pay packets mostly under the pressure of the parents. Every child has some
thing special and there should not only be a provision but also opportunity and respectability to
students opting for other branches of science, arts and crafts. All electronic gadgets of education
have got their own adverse side effects and after effects. The much touted multimedia education is
thwarting the mental growth of our children. Scope for thinking and imagination is reduced
gradually making the children dull and robotic.

MEDICARE: The human body is so magnificent and so complex. There are believed to be several
layers or sheaths that cannot be penetrated even by the most modern CT scanners. That is why
while the diagnostic tests (most of which result in NAD - no abnormality detected) show negative
the patients continue to suffer from undiagnosed diseases. We should not be popping a variety of

2 of 4 1/31/2010 6:09 AM
bvpsept2008.doc https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f7810611fd&view=att&th=1267f...

pills at the slightest discomfort and running for useless tests. This practice has become even
worse with some body else (either the government or company) paying for it. Although the
expenditure is not ours, the body is ours! And there is no point in going for a treatment more
painful than the disease itself. Political promises of corporate treatment to poor people should not
turn out to be more a favor to the corporate hospitals than to the patients. If we are Bharateeyas…
perhaps our governments should set up Yoga, Naturapathy, Ayurveda and Homoeopathic clinics
in all villages or primary health centers rather than encouraging the establishment of super
specialty hospitals here and there.

ENTERTAINMENT: The face of the present day entertainment has completely changed from the
past. While this may appear natural, what is unfortunate is the damage that is being caused to the
children and youth in the name of entertainment. While educating the children and youth of the
harmful effects of modern day entertainments, we should wean them away from the westernized
entertainments and hold extensive cultural shows of quality reflecting human values and the
country’s heritage.

It is common knowledge that Films and TVs form the sole entertainment for a large chunk of
the population. The addiction to even cartoon channels - which are frequently interrupted by
harmful advertisements – is becoming big head ache for the parents. With advances in science
and technology, numerous video games are entering the market and of course residences. If we
are Bharatiyas… perhaps we should encourage our children to do physical exercise and also see
they play out door games to the extent possible to keep them healthy and happy.

Parties and gifts are adding up enormously to the pollution of the mind as well as environment.
Tourism is another devastating anti-environmental concept that is catching people like a virus. If
we are Bharateeyas… perhaps we should revert to the self- purificatory concept of pilgrimage.
Perhaps we should keep our pilgrim centers and bathing ghats clean and orderly.

CULTURE: Nuclear families have not only destroyed our culture but also encouraged basal
qualities in the human to come out into the open, creating domestic violence. If we are
Bharateeyas … perhaps we should restore and encourage the practice of living together as
undivided families, which will help people in suppressing their evil and ugly qualities, which are of
course dormant in every person. Perhaps we should be respecting and serving aged
parents/grand parents and certainly not sending them to Old Age Homes. Whatever be the
material achievements of a person, the importance of family ties and bondage can not be
exaggerated. Indian culture, traditional practices and rituals are aimed at individual and community
well being amidst a flourishing Nature. Perhaps we should take the children out, show and explain
them the wonders of Nature and also give them the taste of Seva and Samarpan based on the
guiding principles of sacrifice, charity and austerity for a durable peace and happiness in the
society. Unfortunately grotesque perversions have crept into rituals and practices of ancient India
like the present day Ganesh immersions involving massive metal frames, tons of Plaster of Paris,
paints, chemical etc.

ENVIRONMENT: If we are Bharateeyas … preservation of Nature, which is a visible form of God, is

our duty. But now we are destroying the Nature recklessly for petty comforts. Even atheists agree
that we need to protect our land, air and water. We should not be industrializing our country on
the lines of West and get into insurmountable problems. Thousands and lakhs of mobile monsters
wheeling on the roads have already become a major problem in the country throwing out
dangerous gases. Perhaps we should drastically cut the production of private vehicles and
introduce world class public transport system both on road and rail tracks. If our pollution levels
are already out of range in the cities, what will be the situation in the year 2020, which is the dream

3 of 4 1/31/2010 6:09 AM
bvpsept2008.doc https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f7810611fd&view=att&th=1267f...

target for our nation to become a developed country? If we are Bharateeyas…perhaps there
should be a greater environmental consciousness and we should be performing daily Agnihotras
and regular community Havans to keep our environment free from harmful bacteria and also for
receiving optimal and timely rains.

If we are Bharateeyas…perhaps we should know how to live happily with in our means and not
wasting our resources in buying sprees, which not only congest our houses but also pollute the
environment. Over 90% of the goods sold in Malls are unnecessary and harmful to the man as well
as his environment. If we go for shopping it should be for a particular item of necessity. We should
avoid buying heavily advertised, heavily packaged goods.

GOVERNANCE: Even political parties pledging Nationalism and Bharatiyata are also confused as
to how to develop the country retaining our culture and value system. Whether it is agriculture,
education, entertainment, medicare or social welfare only money spinning programs are finding
support from the government and businessmen. If we are Bharatiyas…perhaps we should not
have been following blindly the Western model of development and develop our country
considering the interest of majority of our billion plus population, scanty resources and above all
our ancient culture and heritage. Perhaps we have to reorient our 5-year plans to bring a smile to
the quarter of a population lying below the poverty line. If we want to preserve our environment for
future generations perhaps we should drastically cut our inputs on industry and divert them to
improve our agriculture, forestry and livestock. Perhaps we should keep the greedy multi national
corporations destroying our land, air and water at arms length instead of surrendering to them and
inviting them to rape our country. Perhaps our scientists should be seriously researching into the
ancient Indian concepts of organic farming, sustainable development, eco-friendly festivals and
rituals to unravel the super scientific concepts behind them rather than spending their time and
money on third rate imitative research.

If we are Bharatiyas…perhaps we should be doing many things and not doing many more
things!!! In any case this is the right time to act for all Bharateeyas. Although we cannot go back in
times and forego some of the modern comforts, we should be discrete in our attitude and try to
combine the best traditions of ancient India with the best of modern West, to come out with a safe
and sustainable model for the future. Because Bharateeyata has been under attack for centuries,
it may take a few decades to restore the culture and heritage even if all of us work hard and
sincerely. Let us make a beginning and start doing whatever is possible to live a natural and
simple life and achieve peace and harmony with the Nature around us. That is the real Vikasa for
a true Bharateeya.

4 of 4 1/31/2010 6:09 AM