Downloadable Diwali Greeting

Click on the image to download the original (3872 x 2592). Please type additional text on the image and send this Diwali Greeting (Dipavali Greeting) to your loved ones. You are free to crop the watermark on the right side edge with mention of my name. Happy Diwali!

Hi vaat door jaate sung by Asha Bhosale

A beautiful song written by poetess Shanta Shelake equally beautifully composed by Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar and sung in serene and dreamy voice of ever favorite Asha Bhosale.

ही वाट दूर जाते स्वप्नामधील गांवा

                                      माझ्या मनातला ग तेथे असेल रावा

जेथे मिळे धरेला आभाळ वाकलेले

अस्ताचलास जेथे रविबिंब टेकलेले

जेथे खुळ्या ढगांनी रंगीन साज ल्यावा

                                     माझ्या मनातला ग तेथे असेल रावा

स्वप्नामधील गांवा स्वप्नामधून जावे

स्वप्नातल्या प्रियाला मन मुक्त गीत गावे

स्वप्नातल्या सुखाचा स्वप्नीच वेध घ्यावा

                                       माझ्या मनातला ग तेथे असेल रावा...

*** ***

गीत: शांता शेळके

संगीत: हृदयनाथ मंगेशकर

स्वर: आशा भोसले

*** ***

Musings over law studies

In last few days I am pondering over my ignorance for law studies I have had in the past. It is such a wonderful domain to study if one prepares himself to make the reading a habit. Although I am fond of reading, Law as the subject of study had never appealed me until very recent. I was always told by my friends in this field that they had to remember innumerable clauses and sub-clauses all the time and reproduce the 'right' clause at any time. Most of their energy was consumed in that activity and many of them were completely possessed by the fear of forgetting a clause or two. It was horrible! By that exclamation, I mean, I felt that the exercise of testing my memory, in case I were in their shoes, could be nothing less than a horrible experience! Whole prospect sounded unattractive. But then, in last few years, as I was growing up (read my brain) and when I read a few pieces in the constitution of India, a realization dawned upon me that studying law was interesting, rather damn interesting exercise. Myself being an ardent science follower, it was not going to be the mainstream activity for me. It will never be in future either. But today I have realized that some basic knowledge of the law and judiciary system is must for me as an element of the society. Similarly, in my opinion, it is necessary for all of us to understand this system.

I feel, studying law will become easier if one considers that law is driven by logic, kind of a rational logic. 'viveka', pronounced as विवेक in Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and also in probably a few other Sanskrit-derivatives. It will immensely help the student of law if he decides not to be driven by impulses of swaying mind. This impulse, I think, is different from intuitiveness of the mind. Intuition gives the mind a direction, logical and desired during those circumstances, without going through the elaborate process of decision making. In the following paragraphs, I will try to analyze how in normal circumstances decisions are arrived at. I will also try to list the steps in order to elaborate this point.  And in the end, I will try to relate the usefulness of being good at decision making to study law.

The process of the brain's decision making follows the course of the steps listed below.

• Searching the data in form of information held by the brain,
• Collating relevant pieces,
• Forming and comparing alternatives,
• Applying best of the available criterion, and
• Finally making a choice.

The above steps can be elaborated with a more comprehensive structure of sub-steps. I have not ventured into that for the sake of brevity. As I have mentioned earlier, the decisions are not merely taken via this process, but they are arrived at through a carefully formulated methodology. In the present context, we can safely consider this methodology as the logic. Coming back to the intuition, I would like to mention that the intuition can bypass one or more steps in the above list. At times it can lead to the final step straight away. It also helps when none of the bits and pieces of information available is concerned with the circumstances leading to non-existence of the foundation on which the decision is to be arrived at. Intuition leads the mind in such uncertainty. A stable but brave mind can adapt the thought suggested by intuition and also can start following it. But this is where the real danger lies. Such following will yield disastrous results if the path directed by the intuition-led decision turns out to be a wrong one at a later stage. On the other hand, if the intuition-led course is followed with utmost caution and the new circumstances are continuously examined and correctness of the course is verified, we are safely lead to the desired destination more likely than not. Impulsive mind lacks these qualities, caution and the analytical quality of intuitive mind, and often leads to disappointing results.

Student of law can not rely upon intuitive thinking alone. He has to master the decision making process. He will be greatly benefited by intuition of the right kind if the results of the meticulously arrived decision and his intuition coincide. Such occurrence surely has huge potential to boost his confidence. This quality can be of vital importance to the lawyers, judges, law-makers and the law enforcement agencies; not to forget the curious students like you and me.

'viveka' of the law student plays an important role in this process. It helps while working on almost all the steps. It is worth noting here that this quality does not have alternative especially in deciding which of the pieces of information are relevant and also in deciding the criterion for evaluating different alternatives or possibilities found plausible. The student whose mind is occupied with the continuous quest for finding the truth is certain to have this quality. In other words, this quality comes naturally with the desire for the quest for truth.

Having discussed about the basic qualities to study law I will briefly touch upon how law is looked upon in the real world. Law is considered to be a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. Law shapes almost every sphere of life like politics, economics and society in numerous ways. It serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. I have borrowed this definition of law from wikipedia originally phrased by legal philosopher H.L.A. Hart. This also prompts the student to have fundamental knowledge of the various spheres of life like a few listed above. This is where the mention of first quality, the habit of reading, comes into picture. It also helps in studying various cases and verdicts delivered in the past. Basic element of the society is a human being. Thus being a good observer of people and events also becomes essential for the student of law. Today being up to date about latest happenings has no longer remained difficult due to advanced print and electronic media and also due to widespread world wide web.

To sum the things up, I would like to say that studying law is an interesting and pleasant challenge for any curious intellectual. Events and their repercussions in society are good triggers for invoking interest in law studies. Also these studies have become a necessity for the professionals not as a part of acquiring general knowledge but to actually set up a regulatory framework for various transactions in their own organizations. Thus the student of law, how ever part time his studies could be, need to have a few qualities namely: liking for reading, logical and analytical ability, 'viveka', methodical decision making ability coupled with intuitiveness, hunger for knowledge, an urge to find truth and last but not the least, a lot of patience. Here I will conclude with a hope that every thing that I have tried to tell myself till this word will motivate myself to spend more time studying law.

*** ***

Hum hain raahi pyaar ke by Kishore Kumar

This is one of my most favorite Kishore songs. Full of meaning.

हम हैं राही प्यार के, हम से कुछ ना बोलिए
जो भी प्यार से मिला, हम उसी के हो लिए ||

दर्द भी हमें कबूल, चैन भी हमें कबूल
हम ने हर तरह के फूल, हार में पिरो लिए ||

धूप थी नसीब में, धूप में लिया हैं दम
चांदनी मिली तो हम, चांदनी में सो लिए ||

दिल पे आसरा किये, हम तो बस यूं ही जिये
एक कदम पे हंस लिए, एक कदम पे रो लिये ||

राह में पड़े हैं हम, कब से आप की कसम
देखिये तो कम से कम, बोलिये ना बोलिये ||

*** ***
चित्रपट: नौ दो ग्याराह (१९५७)
गीत: मजरूह सुलतानपुरी
स्वर: किशोर कुमार
संगीत: सचिन देव बर्मन
*** ***
Nau Do Gyarah, Mahrooh Sultanpuri, Kishore Kumar, Sachin Dev S D Burman

Guru Govind Sinh as remembered by Veer Savarkar

कोणत्या गोष्टीपासून प्रेरणा घ्यायची, अथवा कोणत्या व्यक्तिच्या जीवन चरित्रामुळे आपल्या मनावर सकारात्मक परिणाम होईल हे मुख्यत: आपल्या त्या त्या वेळच्या परिस्थितीवर व गत अनुभवांवर अवलंबून राहते. इतिहासातील कोणती तरी यशोगाथा एखाद्या व्यक्तीला प्राप्त परिस्थितीशी टक्कर देण्यास प्रवृत्त करेल. परंतु कदाचीत एखाद्या संवेदनशील मनास तीच यशोगाथा निराशेच्या गर्तेतही ढकलून देईल. प्रत्येक व्यक्तीची मानसीकता वेगळी असते, तसेच प्रत्येक व्यक्तीची परिस्थिती वेगळी असते. वीर सावरकर मुंबई मधील डोंगरीच्या कारागृहामध्ये होते. वेळ आहे सन १९१० ची. नुकत्याच त्यांना दोन वेगवेगळ्या खटल्यांसाठी आजन्म कारावासाच्या दोन शिक्षा सुनावल्या गेल्या आहेत. याचा अर्थ असा की सुटका होणार १९६० मध्ये. सावरकरांचा लहानपणापासूनचा एक मानस - एक महाकाव्य लिहीणे. हाताशी ना लेखणी आहे, ना कागदाचा चिटोरा. कारण या गोष्टी कारागृहात बाळगणेही गुन्हा आहे. दुसरा कोणताही मार्ग दृष्टिक्षेपात नाही. आहे तो फक्त पुढील ५० वर्षांमधील दिसणारा अंधार. या परिस्थितीत त्यांना आठवतात ते श्री गुरू गोविंद सिंह. त्यांच्या 'माझी जन्मठेप' या पुस्तकातील संबंधीत उतारा.

गोविंदसिंहाचे चरित्र

... प्रत्यही कमीत कमी दहा ते वीस कविता नव्या रचून आणि जुन्यावर आवृत्ति देऊन पाठ करण्याचा जर प्रघात ठेवला तर एक वा अर्ध लक्ष (ओळींचे) महाकाव्य रचणे संभवनीय आहे तर मग आजच प्रारंभ. प्रथम श्रीगुरूगोविंदसिंहाचे चरित्र गावयाचे.

कारण गोविंदसिंह हुतात्म्यांचा मुकुटमणी होता. थोर यशाने मंडित झालेले थोर पुरुष राजप्रासादांच्या सुवर्णकलशाप्रमाणे तेज:पुंज दिसतातच. पण आज मला त्यांच्या चरित्रवर्णनाने, त्यांची ती यशोगीतें गाईल्याने, तितकी शांति न मिळता उलट माझ्या कपाळी आलेल्या अपयाशाची तीव्रता मात्र अधिक जाचू शकण्याचा संभव आहे. आज मला त्या यशाच्या राजप्रासादाच्या पायाखाली खोल दडपून गेलेल्या अपयशाच्या पायाचे चिंतन हे ध्येय आहे. म्हणून 'चमकोर' दुर्गातून निसटताना ज्याचा संपूर्ण पराभव झालेला आहे, ज्याचे मातापत्नीपुत्र वाताहात होऊन संसाराची राखरांगोळी उडाली आहे, ज्याच्या शिष्यांनीही त्याच्यावर शपथपूर्वक ठेवलेल्या निष्ठेचे त्यागपत्र देऊन आयत्या वेळेस त्यास सोडून त्या पराभवाचे व अपयशाचे खापर त्याच्याच डोक्यावर फोडलेले आहे आणि तरीहि जो सिंह ते अपयशाचे व दु:खाचे हलाहल एकाद्या रुद्रासारखा अवतार धारण करून पचविता झाला, त्या गोविंदसिंहाचे ते अपयशच आज मला गेय आहे! या माझ्या भयंकर दु:खास व अपजयास ते मेरुदंडाप्रमाणे आधार होईल. माझ्या पिढीच्या अपयशाच्या, दु:खाच्या पराजयाच्या खोल पायावर भावी पिढ्यांचे यश:प्रासाद ते उभवील!

भावनांच्या मनो-यावर चढून माझे मन दूरवरची दृश्‍ये पाहण्यात रंगून गेले असता इकडे माझे हात ते काथ्याचे कठीण नाडे व च-हाटे तोडण्यात, कुटण्यात, उकलण्यात गुंतलेले होते. प्रत्यहींच्या म्हणून ठरलेल्या दहा पंधरा आर्या रचून झाल्या, काथ्या उलगडणेहि संपले! पण हातहि सोलून निघाले, फोड उठले, रक्त गळू लागले.

डोंगरीच्या बंदीगृहात, हेगच्या निकालानंतर किती दिवस होतो आठवत नाही. प्रात:काळी उठावे, व्यायामासाठी फिरताना योगसूत्रे मुखोद्गत म्हणावीत त्यावरील एकेकावर अनुक्रमे विचार करावा; मग सक्त श्रमाचे म्हणून कठीण काम दिलेले असेल ते करावे आणि ते करतानाच मनात दहाबारा नवीन कविता रचून व जुन्या पाठ झालेल्या आवृत्ति देऊन संध्याकाळी जेवण झाल्यावर तुरुंग बंद करून सर्व सामसूम झाली असता ध्यानधारणेचा काही अभ्यास साधावा व रात्री नऊ वाजण्याचे आतच निजावे. झोप मात्र गाढ लागे. एकलकोंडीतील हा कार्यक्रम चालला असता कधी कधी 'प्रवृत्तिचिये राजबिंदी | पुढा बोधाचिये प्रतिपदी | विवेकदृश्याची मांदी' (ज्ञानेश्वरी: अध्याय १८: ओव्या १०६९-७०) सारीत राहण्याची अटोकाट खटपट करीत असतानाहि चिंतेची व उद्वेगाची धाड एकाएकी कोसळून जसा काही गळा चेपला जावा, जीव कासावीस होऊ पाहावा. वाटे, आपल्यामागे कार्याचे काय होईल..... जर..... मग हेहि कष्ट..... पण क्षणभरात चमनाचा तोल पुन: संभाळला जावा.

- माझी जन्मठेप, लेखक: विनायक दामोदर सावरकर (१८८३-१९६६)

*** ***

Some misconceptions needing to be clarified

A friend of mine posted a news article stating Julia Roberts, an actress in the west, started following Hinduism. Well, that was nice. Each one has a right to follow his or her beliefs. There was a mixed response from netizens to Ms Robert's decision.  At least that's what it is reported till the date. I read through initial few comments below the articile. I found one interesting query. It was apperant that the author was trying to ridicule Hinduism on some counts. His comment read,

Please, can Julia or someone else tell me what I need to believe to become a Hindu. I am interesed. Also, tell me what caste I will be designated to, which god I should follow, can I marry more women if I chose to follow Krishna, is it possible to please god by giving them sweets...

There was response from others for this comment. And I can't say that it was all kind. Anyway, I thought that this is a person who represents a whole world which is trying to understand Hinduism but is not giving its best shot and, in the end, is getting confused. A confused person can never talk sense however honest his or her intentions be. Effectively, such person points fingers at 'the flaws'. Half baked cookies - I'd rather say half-baked wisdom! The above comment falls precisely in this category. Such a person needs to be taken into confidence and told, re baba, there are things in Hindu way of life which need thinking, which need application of rational thoughts; and at the same time there is a world, which is trying to ridicule Hinduism out of sheer ignorance, and it deserves an explaination.

An explaination which has some simple answers to the questions hurled like those in the above comment. Those simple answers could be the following.

• You need to believe that you can think and you can 'think and act' constructively. This religion allows you to think.
• Your caste will depend upon which work you will take up as your jeevan dharma hereafter.
• You may be asked to follow even your parents as elements of the God. And you may have to do that.
• If you choose to follow Krishna, you'll be asked to study his life and deeds. And you yourself will change your mind and will decide to marry only one good woman. Even otherwise, Law won't allow you to marry more than one woman. You're following Krishna; so what?
• You may not be able to please God/Gods by giving him/them sweet, nor meat!

Pleasing Gods is not so easy. It doesn't take any doctrine to prove this. Look how this gentleman's harmless but mindful comment has offended many. It makes me think how can he even think of pleasing the God!

*** ***

Shri Gajanan Stotra composed by my Baba

In early eighties a group of devotees of Shri Gajanan Maharaj approached my father and requested him to compose something about Maharaj. After some research and meditation Baba composed a stotra and a few bhajan in Marathi. Out of that, I am reproducing stotra below. Initial shloka narrate different ways in which Maharaj brought out changes in people around him. Last few shloka tell the reasoning behind the changes in life and the outlook. Maharaj, who was troubled by many earlier, was eventually revered by masses. Today he has literally millions of followers.

श्री गजानन महाराज स्तोत्र

ॐ नमोजी गजानना | गणिगणगणात दयाघना

कृपानिधे, तवचरणा | वंदुनि स्तवन करितसे ||१||

तूचि विठ्ठल, तूचि अनंता | ओंकारेश्वर, परमहंसा

रामदास, अवधूता | विकल्पदहना, सद्गुरो ||२||

माघ वाद्य सप्तमीशी | प्रगटुनि शेगावाशी

अज्ञान तिमिराच्या राशी | नष्ट तूची केल्यास ||३||

भास्कराच्या विहिरीला | स्पर्श जेंव्हा तुझा झाला

जीवनझरा उसळला | सकल जनांच्या तृषेस्तव ||४||

भक्त पितांबराच्यासाठी | झालास तू चैतन्य राशी

वठलेल्या आम्रवृक्षासी | नवपालवी फुटतसे ||५||

पोरांनी जरी मारिले | सारे तुवा सहन केले

प्रेम रसाचे पाट वाहिले | तूचि माउली गजानना ||६||

बंकटलालाच्या मळ्यात | मधमाशांना उठविलेत

कोणी न धावती संकटात | हेच पटविले त्या समयी ||७||

वासूदेवानंद सरस्वती | येता तव आश्रमाप्रती

त्रिमार्गातील मुक्ती | समान हे त्वा दाविले ||८||

माघ-वद्य नवमीला | रामदास तुम्ही बनला

विठ्ठल बनुनी बापुनाला | देवभेटी घडविली ||९||

लोक म्हणती चमत्कार | हे तर कृतियुक्त आचार

भक्ताशी केले साक्षर | अध्यात्माचे मार्गावर ||१०||

जेथे श्रद्धा आणि भक्ती | तेथे येतसे उदात्त शक्ती

सद्भावाची येई प्रचीती | हेच ठसवले गजानने ||११||

ब्रह्मगिरी गोसाव्याला | खरा ज्ञानी तुम्ही केला

कोरड्या त्याच्या पांडित्याला | तुम्ही सश्रद्ध बनविले ||१२||

लोकमान्य टिळकाशी | प्रेरणा दिव्य तूची देशी

कैदेत असता मंडाल्याशी | गीतारहस्य निर्मियले ||१३||

सामान्यासी तू सामान्य | पंडितांना असामान्य

भक्तजनांना तूचि धन्य | धन्य बनविले गजानना ||१४||

दिनांचा तुम्ही आधार | सुशिक्षितांना दिलात धीर

मोक्षमार्गाचा उद्धार | केलात पुन्हा कलियुगी ||१५||

तुमच्या चरित्राचे सार | नाम महिमा अपार

एकचि आहे ईश्वर | रूपे जरी वेगळाली ||१६||

नुसती विद्वत्ता न ये कामी | संपत्ती जरी असे धामी

जनहितास्तव ये जे कामी | त्याच सत्कृति या जगती ||१७||

गजाननाचे आचार | साक्षात असति सदाचार

मुखाने करावा उच्चार | उच्चार तुम्हा तारतील ||१८||

नामभक्तीचा हा ठेवा | सत्कृति आचरणी आणाव्या

तरीच गजानन-मार्गा | आचरण आपले मानावे ||१९||

या स्तोत्राचा पाठ | चालेल ज्याच्या घरात

गजाननाचा वरदहस्त | सदैव पाठीशी राहील ||२०||

एकवीस श्लोकांची ही माला | आदरे अर्पिली गजाननाला

समर्थ बनवील भक्ताला | हीच फलश्रुति नि:संशय ||२१||

||श्री गजाननार्पणमस्तु ||

गजानन महाराज स्तोत्राची ही रचना नामभक्ती बरोबर कुतियुक्त आचरणासाठी गजानन महाराजांनी दिलेली प्रेरणा संप्रेरित करणारी आहे. त्यांच्या सत्कृतीच्या आठवणीतून आपणही कृतीप्रवण होत जावे व कर्तबगार बनावे ह्या अपेक्षा या स्तोत्राच्या नित्य पठणातून साकार होतील.

वि. मो. दुधगांवकर
(प्रस्तावने मधील एक परिच्छेद)