Ekam Sat

 Say the Vedas, "ekam sat, vipra: bahudha: wadanti." What does it mean? Loosely translated, the Sanskrit verse means "truth is eternally the same, whereas the wise ones enunciate it differently". 

Indeed it is so. Tomorrow is the Guru Nanak Jayanti. So many of the Gurubani principles echo the ancient Vedic  axioms and reverberate with the mediaeval Bhakti movement notions. No wonder, Sant Namdeo, a close associate/disciple and friend/soulmate of Sant Dnyandeva and  a pillar of the Warkari panth, is revered in Punjab, too.

All the religions, for instance, believe in  "simran", the "nam jap", the constant remembrance of the Lord, the eternal chanting of the holy name of  the God . Each religion and every subsect advocates " kirat karo", that is, lead a life of honesty and piety through a living earned without any exploitation or fraud. 

The number of sins may differ, but this difference in quantity cannot overlook the fact that the basic sinfulness consists of an impossible amalgam of ego, anger, greed, lust, attachment, for instance, as the evil incarnate.

Similarly, most all religions believe in the Guru as the guide who leads us along the right path with   the truth as the ultimate destination.  So many, in fact, are the echoes of each other in every religion that one wonders their followers fight each other.

Indeed, yes, that is another reason why  I revere the memory of Aai-Papa. They brought us up to respect everybody. My Christian friend, Maria, visited us at the time of Diwali. I went to her place for Christmas. I had friends of all sects and religions. We were never ever brought up as boastful Brahmins. 

Indeed, we were made to believe that first and foremost we were Indians. Just as Aai-Papa celebrated all the traditional festivals with zest and enthusiasm, the national days were followed with verve, too. Why, every Independence Day, each Republic Day, on each Tilak, Bhagat Singh, Gandhi, Nehru Jayanti, we had to participate with thorough preparation in essay/elocution competitions not only in the school, but also at home, amongst the three of us. 

Now that "identity politics" debates are dividing the entire society along caste, sub caste, creed fault lines, no wonder, there is a societal earthquake daily that destroys much, so much!  

Pratima@ "el tatva Nam"!