On This Beautiful Mother's day - A Tribute to Mother India !

[Guest guest]

Greetings One and All !

 

It is customary to pay tribute to one's own Mother on Mother's day

but on this Beautiful Mother's day , i thought i will pay a

different sort of tribute - A TRIBUTE TO MY MOTHERLAND- MOTHER

INDIA. What was it that inspired this .... ?

 

The following words in Padmaji's recent post ....

 

(Take for example 'Mother India'. Many patriotic songs were written

in

praise of 'Mother India'. Many youths were inspired to give up their

possessions and families to free 'Mother India'. Is 'Mother India' an

individual? Ishwara is like that.)

 

Sri Rama says to his brother Lakshmana:

 

Api swarnamayi lanka, na ye rachte lakshman, janani janmbhoomishch

swargadapi gariyasi!

 

O Lakshmana ! I do not find the Golden Lanka in the least bit

attractive ; for me , my Mother and Motherland are far superior to

even Heaven !

 

Lakshmana pleaded with Sri Rama not to return to Ayodhya but stay

back in Sri Lanka itself where there was abundance of Wealth,

beautiful women and all the rest. But Sri Rama DECLINED saying how

his 'MOTHER AND MOTHERLAND ARE DEARER TO HIM THAN HEAVEN ITSELF'

 

Well, folks , even after migrating to U.S.A nearly 28 years ago ,

what is this special bond i feel towards my Motherland - Yes ,

Bharat , the poonyabhoomi is also Bharat my karmabhoomi ! It is on

the soil of Bharat Mata , i spent my childhood , my youth ---- all

my formative years , so to speak !

 

May i please quote the following lines from The Ekatmatra stora ?

 

Ratnaakaraadhau Tapadhaam, Himaalaya Kireetineem |

BrahmaRaajarshi Ratnaadyaam, Vande Bhaarata Maataram || 3 ||

 

Bhaarat Maataa (the mother land), I bow to thee, whose feet are

being washed by the ocean waves, whose crown is the snowy himalayas,

whose illustrious sons have distinguished themselves as Brahmarshis

and as Rajarshis.

 

When you think of India, you think Of great Saints Like Adi Shankara

Bhagvadapada , Madhvacharya , Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi ,. Saint

poets like Kabir das ji , Tulasidas , Surdas and Gyaneshwer !

Grammarians like Panini and yoga gurus like Patanjali ! Freedom

fighters Like Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose. Great Poets

Like Rabindranath Tagore so on and on . Among the women , we have

Ahalya bhai , Meera bhai, Jhansi Ki Rani and Sarojini naidu who come

readily to mind .

 

How cannot you thank a *Mother* who produced such wonderful sons and

daughters ? She is the Mother of all MOTHERS - our Beloved Bharata

Mata !

 

It is for this reason the famous Tamizh poet Bhartiyaar sang

" Parukulkle nalla naadu nambha bharata nadu " - meaning - Of all

the countries in the world , India is the best .

 

Yes - Our beautiful Motherland is a country of contrasts - poverty

and wealth exist side by side ; Bollywood is all about Glitz AND

Glamor Kasi is all about spirituality and Salvation.

 

Even now when i step on the soil of mother india , i want to kiss

the soil and feel the fresh air on my cheeks ... no ! folks! this is

not about Patriotism ! This is the 'love ' that a daughter feels for

her mother who has been instrumental in shaping her , grooming her

and making a woman out of a little girl!

 

the following lines from Sri Aurobindo's patriotic poem Vande

Maatram comes to mind

 

tumi vidyaa tumi dharma

tumi hR^idi tumi marma

tvaM hi praaNaaH shariire

 

baahute tumi maa shakti

hR^idaye tumi maa bhakti

tomaara i pratimaa gaDi

mandire mandire ||

 

Thou art wisdom, thou art law,

Thou art heart, our soul, our breath

Though art love divine, the awe

In our hearts that conquers death.

Thine the strength that nervs the arm,

Thine the beauty, thine the charm.

Every image made divine

In our temples is but thine.

 

yes! Dear all ! Our own mother gave birth to us; she is indeed

worshippable ! The Divine Mother gave birth to the entire creation ,

indeed she is worshippable ! But between these two mothers - we have

one more mother we have to thank ! That is our Mother INDIA !

 

" India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of

Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother,

through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the

Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the

village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is

in many ways the mother of us all. " ( WILL DURANT)

 

JOIN me folks on this wonderful Mother's day and sing along with my

favorite poet philosopher Sri Aurobindo

 

" MOTHER DURGA! Slay the enemy within, then root out

all obstacles outside. May the noble heroic mighty Indian race,

supreme in love and unity, truth and strength, arts and letters,

force and knowledge ever dwell in its holy woodlands, its

fertile fields under its sky-scraping hills, along the banks of its

pure-streaming rivers. This is our prayer at the feet of the Mother.

make thyself manifest. "

 

Jai Bharat Mata !