Guest guest Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 I cannot but share this pathetic story with everyone - How fanaticism takes over rational intellect. buddhinaashaat pranasyati. What a sad story. Generations and generations of work destroyed with mindless emotions. When can we grow to deserve to be humans? Hari OM Sadananda --- ymoharir <ymoharir wrote: > What a shame and a sad story to come out of Pune. I have no words to > describe my feelings. > > They estimate that apprxomately 15,000 collectable archives have been > lost. > > It is sid that some anti-brahmin fanatics have been involved. > > Yadunath > > IndianCivilization, "somasushma" > <somasushma> wrote: > http://web.mid-day.com/news/city/2004/january/73054.htm > By: Rupa Chapalgaonkar > January 5, 2004 > > Pune: The 87-year old Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) > bears a sad look. A temple of thousands of rare manuscripts, ancient > books and palm leaf inscriptions the institute's relentless efforts > were destroyed in half hour's time, when a mob ransacked the > institute, leaving behind an irreparable loss. > > The institute was ransacked by nearly 250 members of a group called > Sambhaji Brigade over a book written on Shivaji by foreign author > James Lane. > > The book 'Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India' acknowledges one of > the Sanskrit scholars, Shrikant Bahulkar of BORI in it. The Shiv > Sainiks had blackened Bahulkar's face to express their anger over this > mention on December 22. > > To protest this incident, Gajanan Mehendale, well-known scholar and > chief editor, Cultural Index of Mahabharata, BORI tore 400 unpublished > pages of his biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. > > However, the controversy seemed to have resolved when Lane apologized > for his statements on Shivaji. The book's publisher, Oxford University > Press, too, withdrew the book from the market by its publisher Oxford > University Press. > > However, today's incident has aggrieved veteran scholars at the > institute who have given every bit of their life for development of > the institute. Especially, excruciating is the destruction of > manuscripts, 30,000 in all, stored in 50 cupboards in institute's > premises. > The manuscripts, which were based on varied subjects like Ayurveda, > veda, kavya, shilpa, mahabharata, bhakti, amongst various other, were > sourced from many parts of the world. > > Palm leaf inscriptions, photographs, statues too have been caused an > irreparable damage. Computers storing digitalized volumes of > information lie in a smashed state. > > Dr Gajanan Mehendale, 86 years of age, feels, that research will > become impossible in institutions like BORI if anti-social elements > will try to bog down researchers by use of violence. > > N B Marathe, assistant editor, Cultural Index of Mahabharata, says > with mellowed eyes, "We did not give out the original manuscripts to > anyone be it person from any part of the world. Today, we do not have > words left to express our anger." > > Students from countries like Germany, Japan, Switzerland, China, > France, United Kingdom visit BORI for research every year. > > President of the Governing Council of the Institute Leela Arjunwadkar, > who falls short of words as she stands in front of heaps of broken > glasses all over the institute, is unable to assess the monetary loss > but feels that the cultural heritage of India has received a big > setback. "It is difficult for the institute to stand back on its > feet," she says. > > According to an eye-witness, the mob came to the institute at a time > when the institute was less crowded. While some started pelting stones > and breaking glasses, some cut the telephone lines so the police could > not be contacted. > > The Pune police have rounded up nearly 71 men, who came in Sumo jeeps > at 11 am in the institute. Joint Police Commissioner (crime), > Maheshgauri, said, "Those who will be arrested will be booked under > relevant sections of IPC like sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 295, 395, > 120 (, and 121." > > BORI was established in the year 1917 to commemorate the works of > Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar. When the Bhandarkar Oriental Research > Institute was founded in 1917, the then Government of Bombay handed > over its entire collection of manuscripts (nearly 20,000 manuscripts) > to the Institute. > > The Institute has also received grants from the Government of India > and the University Grants Commission for specific research projects. > > The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute normally works through its > four main Departments: 1. Mahabharata and Research Unit. 2. > Manuscripts. 3. Publication and 4. Post- Teaching and Research. > --- End forwarded message --- > > ===== What you have is His gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift to Him - Swami Chinmayananda. Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes http://hotjobs.sweepstakes./signingbonus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 What a tragic story indeed! We've also seen this with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The background of the BORI affair is confusing to me. Here are some articles from the Times of India which may shed some light. Benjamin http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/385627.cms SCHOLAR DESTROYS OWN WORK ON SHIVAJI MANJIRI DAMLE TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2003 06:25:10 AM ] PUNE: The Shiv Sena's strong-arm tactics have had serious repercussions here, with a distinguished scholar destroying 400 unpublished pages of his biography of Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The scholar, Gajanan Mehendale, who has painstakingly authored an objective, unbiased and most respected biography of Shivaji Maharaj, after a research spanning over 30 years, was driven to the extreme act on Thursday. Mehendale decided to tear off his work after Shiv Sena activists blackened the face of Sanskrit scholar Shrikant Bahulkar on December 22, for allegedly helping author James Lane, who has made some highly objectionable statements about Shivaji in his book, 'Shivaji: Hindu king in Islamic India'. Incidentally, the Oxford University Press that published the book has apologised for the remarks and has withdrawn the book from market after history scholars like Ninad Bedekar, Mehendale and city MP Pradeep Rawat sent strong letters against the statements. Shiv Sena activists jumped on to the bandwagon after the book was withdrawn, and after reputed institutions like the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute condemned the book's content. What angered Mehendale most was that not a single scholar or professor in the University of Pune condemned the attack on Bahulkar. He personally went to the office of Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Paigude on Thursday to demand that Shiv Sena activists, led by city unit chief Rambhau Parekh, tender an apology to Bahulkar. When he received no response from Parekh, Mehendale tore off over 400 pages of the unpublished biography, 'Shri Raja Shivchhatrapati'. Speaking to TNN here on Friday, Mehendale expressed his disgust over the behaviour of Sena activists against a scholar of Bahulkar's repute, who had nothing to do with Lane's remarks. "There is a competition going on to prove who loves Shivaji the most. Since Parekh has such abundant love for Shivaji, he is an excellent candidate to write the biography of Shivaji", he remarked. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/385501.cms BJP KEADER CONDEMNS ATTACK ON BAHULKAR TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2003 02:31:19 AM ] PUNE: BJP city MP Pradeep Rawat has condemned the recent attack on senior Sanskrit scholar Shrikant Bahulkar by Shiv Sena activists led by their city chief Rambhau Parekh for helping author James Lane, who made some objectionable statements about Shivaji in his new book, 'Shivaji: Hindu king in Islamic India' . Rawat met Bahulkar on Friday and apologised for the incident. "These people (Sena activists) have to realise that the book is by Lane and Bahulkar only explained to him some Sanskrit references. He has nothing to do with the objectionable statements," Rawat told TNN later in the day. Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe, too, expressed displeasure over the attack. Sources told TNN that Gorhe has briefed party leader Uddhav Thackeray about the incident. Sena MLA Deepak Paigude was unavailable for comment, but sources said that he tried his best to extract an apology from Parekh. Meanwhile, when contacted, Parekh told TNN that "his party workers were not at fault". "We wrote to Bahulkar 10 days ago, asking him to explain the objectionable statements and whether he condemned them. But he took the matter lightly," Parekh claimed. Parekh said he respected Mehendale, but failed to understand as to "why Mehendale took the issue personally". Bahulkar said he did not receive any letter from the Sena, and, in fact, had initiated remedial action much before the Sena jumped on the bandwagon. "Many reputed institutions I am associated with condemned the statements and I myself drafted the resolutions," he told TNN. Alarmed by Mehendale's action, Rawat sought help from the civic conservancy staff to scrounge all the garbage bins from Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal (working base of Mehendale) up to Loni to see if the pages could be recovered. But he had no luck. Mehendale is so disgusted with Sena activists that he has announced that he will not publish the last two volumes of Shivaji's biography. "I have 3,000 written pages left with me, which I will seal and hand over to Pradeep Rawat with instructions that if anybody so desired, the volumes are to be published only after my death," he told TNN. The first volume, comprising 1,080 pages, was published in 1996. This was followed by two more volumes, comprising 1,350 pages. Another 450 pages would have completed the biography. Mehendale's work has been so comprehensive that there is no part of Shivaji's life and work that has not been covered. He learnt Persian, French, Portuguese and Dutch to read literature on Shivaji wrote by officers from these countries during their stay in India . Interestingly, Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray was so impressed by the volumes written by Mehendale that he bought 100 copies of the biography. And there is also this: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031207/spectrum/book4.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 But there is also this... I hope they can piece most of the manuscripts back together. Benjamin http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/408878.cms PUNE CITIZENS CHIP IN TO RIGHT A WRONG MANJIRI DAMLE TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 07, 2004 01:29:44 AM ] PUNE: In a touching gesture, reaffirming one's faith in the goodness of people, young and old citizens on Tuesday stepped in to restore normalcy at the prestigious Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) after Monday's mindless destruction by the Sambhaji Brigade. The renowned institute became the target for over 150 goons on Monday, who ransacked the library and collection of valuable manuscripts and items, for helping US author James Laine in his allegedly objectionable book on Shivaji. On December 22, local Shiv Sena activists had blackened the face of Sanskrit scholar Shrikant Bahulkar for helping Laine. The scene at BORI on Tuesday was a contrast to the scene on Monday. The floor, littered with broken glass and torn pages of books, was being cleaned and valuable books scattered on the floor were being carefully picked by a team of college students, who spontaneously came forward to help the staff at BORI. Students of SP, Garware and Fergusson colleges and students from the University of Pune took over the cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 advaitin, kuntimaddi sadananda <kuntimaddisada> wrote: > I cannot but share this pathetic story with everyone - How fanaticism > takes over rational intellect. buddhinaashaat pranasyati. What a sad > story. Generations and generations of work destroyed with mindless > emotions. When can we grow to deserve to be humans? > > Hari OM > Sadananda > > --- ymoharir <ymoharir> wrote: > > What a shame and a sad story to come out of Pune. Namaste, The ways of Kali are inscrutable indeed! (aakhyaahi me ko bhavaanugraruupo... na hi prajaanaami tava pravR^ittim.h | Gita 11:31)! What has to be preserved will be - Saint Tukaram's compositions were thrown in the river by jealous scholars, for his audacity to write on Vedic subjects! The river Goddess Herself made them float till rescued! Saint Ekanath dared to write in Marathi while in Varanasi and the Sanskrit scholars there tried to consign them to the Ganges; again the river Goddess made them float! When Ramana Maharshi was beaten up during a robbery at the ashram, his companions were ready to manhandle the robbers; Maharshi asked them to desist - he said robbers were performing their dharma! and Sadhus had to perform theirs (non-violence)!! Tens and thousands of manuscripts are still scattered in libraries and homes that will face extinction if not preserved. China's invasion of Tibet, the Middle-East wars, or any kind of violence has resulted in loss of treasures that are irreplaceable. I suppose a lot of such 'viShaada' we face is like that of Arjuna, and we know where we need to look for guidance! Regards, Sunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 Namaste, >Tens and thousands of manuscripts are still scattered in >libraries and homes that will face extinction if not preserved. Couldn't we get governments and institutions to spend some money and scan these manuscripts and get them into CD-rom and then make copies? Well, I can see some problems. The professors will say that such routine labor should be done by the graduate students, and the grad students will say that they can't get a Ph.D. out of that. Maybe this would give the less-stressed bureaucrats something useful to do! Hari Om! Benjamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 > > Namaste, > > >Tens and thousands of manuscripts are still scattered in > >libraries and homes that will face extinction if not preserved. > > > Couldn't we get governments and institutions to spend some money and > scan these manuscripts and get them into CD-rom and then make copies? > Namaste, There is hope! http://www.ignca.nic.in/nl_01509.htm ".....to preserve the manuscripts, numbering over four million in almost all Indian languages. Some 70 per cent of them are in Sanskrit." Regards, Sunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 Dear friends: >>>>I suppose a lot of such 'viShaada' we face is like that of Arjuna, and we know where we need to look for guidance!<<<< As soon as we start looking for and expecting guidance from outside one starts leaning in the realm of advata. adavita does not have to look for "salvation from outside" because the Guru is within you and therefore, we do not have to look too far for the guidance. As long as we follow with a clear consensus that had been purified by one's own mind finally gives the real answers. "manHpuutam sadaacareta" Our ancestor told us that all the medicines of the world are encompassed within my hands therefore I consider my hand to be most fortunate. aya.m mr sasto bhagavaa naya.m me bhagavattara.m | aya.m me vishvabheShajo.aya.m shivaabhimarshananaH || R^igveda 10.60.13 || Veda vyasa's expresses his paaNivaada through Indra - aho siddhaartataa teShaa yeShaa.m santiha paaNaya | atiiva spR^ihaye teShaa.m santiiha paaNayaH | paaNimadbhyaH spR^ihaa.asmaaka.m yathaa tava dhanasyavai | na paaNilaabhadadhiko laabhaH kashcana vidyate || mahaabhaarata saanti. 180.11.12 || Rather than looking at the differences (brahmin, kshatriya, etc..) one forgets that all of them are part of the same society, the fundamental reason why caaturvarNa was even introduced. Looking at the unity within the diversity is advaita. I think looking at advita for more than the salvation of individual is quite critical. It is unfortunate that trying to establish individual identity for selfish motives creates these problems. I believe that this is because of not having understood the advaita in true sense, because looking at the unity within the diversity is advitaa. I do not know we may be supporting the causes of the library by purchasing their products may help create funds for the preservation of the remaining documents. India has limited resources and preservation of Sanskrit appears to be at the bottom of the pile. or not even on the totem pole. All the news papers in India have condemned the atrocities. Just my 1 and 1/4 cents. Regards, Dr. Yadu advaitin, "Sunder Hattangadi" <sunderh> wrote: > advaitin, kuntimaddi sadananda > <kuntimaddisada> wrote: > > I cannot but share this pathetic story with everyone - How > fanaticism > > takes over rational intellect. buddhinaashaat pranasyati. What > a sad > > story. Generations and generations of work destroyed with mindless > > emotions. When can we grow to deserve to be humans? > > > > Hari OM > > Sadananda > > > > --- ymoharir <ymoharir> wrote: > > > What a shame and a sad story to come out of Pune. > > Namaste, > > The ways of Kali are inscrutable indeed! > (aakhyaahi me ko bhavaanugraruupo... > na hi prajaanaami tava pravR^ittim.h | Gita 11:31)! > > What has to be preserved will be - Saint Tukaram's > compositions were thrown in the river by jealous scholars, for his > audacity to write on Vedic subjects! The river Goddess Herself made > them float till rescued! Saint Ekanath dared to write in Marathi > while in Varanasi and the Sanskrit scholars there tried to consign > them to the Ganges; again the river Goddess made them float! > > When Ramana Maharshi was beaten up during a robbery at the > ashram, his companions were ready to manhandle the robbers; Maharshi > asked them to desist - he said robbers were performing their dharma! > and Sadhus had to perform theirs (non-violence)!! > > Tens and thousands of manuscripts are still scattered in > libraries and homes that will face extinction if not preserved. > China's invasion of Tibet, the Middle-East wars, or any kind of > violence has resulted in loss of treasures that are irreplaceable. > > I suppose a lot of such 'viShaada' we face is like that of > Arjuna, and we know where we need to look for guidance! > > Regards, > > Sunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 advaitin, "ymoharir" <ymoharir> wrote: > I do not know we may be supporting the causes of the library by > purchasing their products may help create funds for the preservation > of the remaining documents. India has limited resources and > preservation of Sanskrit appears to be at the bottom of the pile. or > not even on the totem pole. > > All the news papers in India have condemned the atrocities. > > Just my 1 and 1/4 cents. > > Regards, > > Dr. Yadu Namaste, To turn the focus back on Shankara's work, preservation of Vedic dharma was his mission, and that of his successors. Practising the dharma from what is already available is far more critical for preservation than storing documents. For a review of the state of dharma, we can study Kanchi Paramacharya's discourse: http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part3/chap10.htm Regards, Sunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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