Sri Aurobindo, Aurobindo Ghose, 153 (15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950). Rishi, and nationalist rolled-into one. Nominated for Nobel Prize twice. Was Editor, Karmayogin, Bande Mataram, Arya. Qualified for Indian civil service, but worked with Baroda civil service. Involved with Anushilan Samiti revolutionary movement. He faced charges of treason for Alipore Conspiracy, but was acquitted eventually. Quickly thereafter, he was being prosecuted for sedition based on an article – To my countrymen. Aurobindo reached Pondicherry, a French colony, and the prosecution stopped.
He dedicated himself to spiritual and philosophical pursuits, lifelong. Aurobindo claimed: I was hearing constantly the voice of Vivekananda speaking to me for a fortnight in the jail in my solitary meditation and felt his presence. His essential work is Integral Yoga – nature has evolved life out of matter and the mind out of life; all of existence is attempting to manifest to the level of the supermind – an intermediary between unmanifested Brahman, Sachchidaananda and the manifested world. His publications include: Savitri; The Life Divine; The Synthesis of Yoga; Essays on The Gita; The Secret of The Veda; Hymns to the Mystic Fire; The Upanishads; The Renaissance in India; War and Self-determination; The Human Cycle; The Ideal of Human Unity et al. Mirra Alfassa, Mother, was considered Aurobindo’s spiritual equal and close collaborator.
Burnout is growing for most of us. But, why? Is it just the work, work conditions, and work timings? Isn’t it the system in which we are working? Are we conditioned to be ‘productive’ producing more, serving more, giving more time, earning more et al? Sacrificing ‘personal’ matters, lives, and moments. Sacrificing time with nature, people. Sacrificing life and living. We seem to be available 24/7. Not being available is considered blasphemy. We carry ourselves with our ‘burdens’ everywhere. The monkeys do not seem to leave us. Whatever we do. Consumerism, showing off our ‘richness’, our need to show our purchasing power seem to be driving us to go insane. They seek us to spend more. Therefore, we have to earn more, earn a mandatory minimum. Therefore, we take up slavery, even if we do not like it, even if we do not need it. We are stuck. Stuck in a vicious cycle(s). There is a constant pressure to keep up, comply. We get drawn into a cycle of exhaustion. Simple life gives way in the process.
We may have low wages. We have rising costs. We have not had such great work before many of us. The cost of education to our children is high. Healthcare costs are unimaginably high. Not affordable to many of us. We cannot take off, because we have no savings or reserves. We are lost in day-to-day existence, we miss life purposes or life goals or we miss having them.
Isn’t it time we aspire, and work for what we aspired? Each one of us. Each one of our teams. Our organizations. Through visioning, planning, and strategizing slightly long-term, say 5, 10, or 20 years. Through assessing our reality today. Through figuring our SWOT, ladders to hold on to, and snakes to escape, skip or overcome. Through developing streams of actions, building micro-nano steps in each of these streams. By being at it. Consistently.
Independence. Independence is the condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. Freedom. Are we free? Are we independent collectively? Is it limited freedom, independence, and autonomy, varying from time-to-time, place-to-place, group-to-group within?
78 years of Indian Independence. For our democracy.
President talks: Four pillars of our democracy – justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Every human being is equal, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Everyone should have equal access to healthcare and education. Everyone should have equal opportunity. Those who had been traditionally at a disadvantage needed to be given a helping hand. …With a GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent in the last fiscal, India is the fastest growing among the major economies in the world. …. A large number of people have been pulled out of poverty through good governance. … The country is rapidly urbanizing. …. during the Amrit Kaal, …. there are three sections of society that will lead us on this path – youth, women and the communities that had for long remained on the margins…..Our daughters are …. breaching barriers in every field, including in the areas of defence and security. …. The gender gap in employment has also been reducing….. We must change our relationship with our land, rivers, mountains, and with flora and fauna…. we will leave behind a planet in which life will be flourishing in natural order.
Modi, longest serving Prime Minister, after Nehru, speaks from the ramparts of Red Fort, twelfth time. This is the longest ever, 103 minutes.
Prime Minister: ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is fluttering…. For 75 years, the Constitution of Bharat has been guiding us like a lighthouse….Today, we are also celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee…..By 2047, when the nation will complete 100 years of independence—the year we have set as the target for achieving the goal of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.
…..we achieved the 50% clean energy target in 2025 itself, five years ahead of schedule……To make the country developed, we are now moving towards ‘Samudra Manthan’…..We are also preparing for Aatmanirbhar Bharat Gaganyaan on our own in space. We are working towards building our own space station on our own. …..From operating systems to cyber security, from deep tech to artificial intelligence, everything should be our own, on which the strength of our own people is concentrated, we should introduce the power of their capabilities to the world…..Be it the creative world, social media or any of these platforms, I challenge the youth of my country, come, why don’t we have our own platforms, why should we depend on others….let us find new ways and prepare our own fertilizers as per the requirement of India, let us not depend on others…. EV batteries, …. solar panels or all the things required for electronic vehicles, we should have our own….. we must give our all to become self-reliant in every sphere of life, to give our very best.
…entrepreneurship has gained tremendous strength. ….. I stand with you. I am ready to work for you. I am ready to be your partner in this journey. Come forward, gather courage, take the initiative. …. our mantra should be: “Lower price, but higher value.” …. That generation dedicated itself to a free Bharat; this generation must take bold new steps for a prosperous Bharat….. Let us take pride in Swadeshi. ….. Whether it is structural reforms, regulatory reforms, policy reforms, process reforms, or the need for constitutional reforms, we have made every kind of reform our mission today…..We are coming with the next generation of GST reforms, this will be a gift for you this Diwali. ….The Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana is being implemented today on August 15th… new employment opportunities for approximately 3.5 crore youth.
….Self Help Group, the sisters of 10 crore Self Help Groups, are doing such amazing things…..two crore women have become Lakhpati Didi in no time. ….Today India is number one in the world in the production of milk, pulses and jute. Today we are the second largest fish producer in the world. ….Today India has also reached the second position in the world in the production of rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables…. PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana will provide … help to … 100 districts of the country.
…. There was a time when the poor, the oppressed, the tribal communities, the deprived, the differently abled, and our widowed mothers and sisters had to wander from place to place for their rights, spending their whole lives going from one government office to another. Today, the government comes to your doorstep with a saturation approach. …. Direct Benefit Transfer has been a truly revolutionary step….Today, over 25 crore poor people in the last 10 years — have overcome poverty and stepped out of it, creating a new “neo–middle class.”
…100 Aspirational Districts and 500 Aspirational Blocks….
… We must protect ourselves from obesity…. every family should resolve that when cooking oil comes into the house, it should be 10% less than usual, and its use should also be 10% less. …
… This nation is built by the toil of crores of people—by sages, saints, scientists, teachers, farmers, soldiers, workers, labourers—everyone’s efforts contribute to nation-building. …
… This is the 150th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. By freeing these tribal areas from Naxalism and saving the lives of the youth of my tribal families, we have paid him a true tribute….
… we have decided to launch a High-Power Demography Mission.
…. Now the country will launch Sudarshan Chakra Mission. … manufacturing should be done in our country itself… strategy of Plus One…. a system for targeted precise action.
….. we will not allow even a single particle of slavery to remain in our lives, in our systems, in our rules, laws and traditions. We will not rest until we are free from all forms of slavery….. We will be proud of our heritage. …. it will be our collective resolve that no one should be able to break the thread of unity…. we will devote ourselves to achieving the target of developed India by 2047, we will not leave any opportunity with whatever capability we have, not only that, we will create new opportunities and after creating them, we will keep moving ahead with the strength of 140 crore countrymen, keep moving ahead, keep moving ahead….the one who has toiled hard, is the one who has created history. … the one who has broken the steel rocks is the one who has bent the time. …And this is the time to bend the time, this is the right time.
Will these resolves be realized? Will rules apply to all who are in governance? Or do they get applied selectively? Will Modi continue beyond 75? How do the 140 Crore people find ways to join hands in amrt kaal endeavour? Viksit Bharat 2047.
We hear: GST would be rationalized into – 5%, 18%, a special 40% for luxury and sin goods. Petroleum products may still be outside GST. Pre-paid annual highway FASTag pass is in already.
Can more and more of us, women and men, take charge of Viksit Bharat, amrt kaal? Fully, with interest. Full throttle. Can we make this vibrant viral movement?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. Young and old hand-in-hand. In N? chakravyuhayoga for 7L.