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World Peace Restoring Our Connections Human beings are each a microcosm. Living here on Earth, we breathe the rhythms of a universe that extends infinitely above us. When resonant harmonies arise between this vast outer cosmos and the inner human cosmos, poetry is born. At one time, perhaps, all people were poets, in intimate dialogue I with nature. In Japan, the Man'yo-shu collection comprised poems written by people of all classes. And almost half of the poems are marked "poet unknown." These poems were not written to leave behind a name. Poems and songs penned as an unstoppable outpouring of the heart take on a life of their own. They transcend the limits of nationality and time as they pass from person to person, from one heart to another. The poetic spirit can be found in any human endeavor. It may be vibrantly active in the heart of a scientist engaged in research in the awed pursuit of truth. When the spirit of poetry lives within us, even objects do not appear as mere things; our eyes are trained on an inner spiritual reality. A flower is not just a flower. The moon is no mere clump of matter floating in the skies. Our gaze fixed on a flower or the moon, we intuitively perceive the unfathomable bonds that link us to the world. In this sense, children are poets by nature, by birth. Treasuring and nurturing their poetic hearts, enabling them to grow, will also lead adults into realms of fresh discovery. We do not, after all, exist simply to fulfill desires. Real happiness is not found in more possessions, but through a deepening harmony with the world. The poetic spirit has the power to "retune" and reconnect a discordant, divided world. True poets stand firm, confronting life's conflicts and complexities. Harm done to anyone, anywhere, causes agony in the poet's heart. A poet is one who offers people words of courage and hope, seeking the perspective—one step deeper, one step higher—that makes tangible the enduring spiritual realities of our lives. The apartheid system of racial segregation was a grave crime against humanity. In resisting and combating this evil, the keen sword of words played an important role. Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali is a South African poet who fought against the iniquities of apartheid with poetry as his weapon. He writes: "Poetry reawakens and reinforces our real, innermost strength; our spirituality. It is the force that makes us decent people, people who are filled with empathy for those in need or I pain, those suffering from injustice and other wrongs or societal ills." Nelson Mandela read Mtshali's poems in prison, drawing from them energy to continue his struggles. The Brazilian poet Thiago de Mello, lauded as the protector of the Amazon, also endured oppression at the hands of the military government. On the wall of the cell in which he was imprisoned, he found a poem inscribed by a previous inmate: "It is dark, but I sing because the dawn will come." They were words from one of his own poems. Amid the chaos and spiritual I void that followed Japan's defeat in World War II, like many young people of my generation, I gained untold encouragement from reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The overflowing freedom of his soul struck me like a bolt of empathetic lightning. Now more than ever, we need the thunderous, rousing voice of poetry. We need the poet's impassioned songs of peace, of the shared and mutually supportive existence of all things. We need to reawaken the poetic spirit within us, the youthful, vital energy and wisdom that enable us to live to the fullest. We must all be poets. An ancient Japanese poet wrote, "Poems arise as ten thousand leaves of language from the seeds of people's hearts." Our planet is scarred and damaged, its life systems threatened with collapse. We must shade and protect Earth with "leaves of language" arising from the depths of life. Modern civilization will be healthy only when the poetic spirit regains its rightful place. - Daisaki Ikeda, President Soka Gakkai International SGI Quaterly No 51, January 2008 2 President’s Page Hate the sin, love the sinner That is what Mahatma Gandhi preached and practiced throughout his life. He never sought revenge against any one including those who had fatally attacked him. There are several instances from his early days in South Africa. Even for the first instance when he was thrown out of train, he did not seek revenge or punishment for the persons involved; he asked for reform. On a number of occasions he was violently attacked by the white youth and by some hired hooligans from his own folks. On one instance in South Africa he fell unconscious and remained in coma for a number of days. The first thing he did on regaining consciousness was to enquire about his assailants. When he was informed that his assailants were arrested, he immediately demanded their release stating they did not do anything wrong; he took the blame for his injury on him and ensured that his assailants were released. He was compassionate towards the ‘sinners’ as he considered them the victims of their ignorance and notions. Mahatma Gandhi often insisted: ‘You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty’. In the present circumstances while we talk about need for peace in the world and continue decrying violence and terrorism related activities and fatal attacks we hardly care for bringing reforms in the hearts of those ‘terrorists’. They (‘terrorists’) are not given a chance or an opportunity to redress their anguish and hatred towards the populace who, according to them (‘terrorists’) ‘wronged’ them. Instead of understanding them and trying to quench their hatred feelings and anguish, they are being punished by more violent means. Mahatma Gandhi often said: ‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’. That is what we see happening now. Can we at the least give a go to the Mahatma’s advocacy for achieving peace? I ask the leaders of the world: USA and Israel included. Recently an Australian court ordered a reduced imprisonment of 10 years for a criminal. The victim’s mother came out in the press condemning the reduced sentence saying that she was shattered that justice was not done to her deceased daughter and that the assailant would be free to walk after ten years and may harm others. I fail to understand how an enhanced punishment to the assailant would give solace or comfort to the victim or her / his relatives. Can’t we be humane and shun the tit for tat or in Mahatma Gandhi’s words an eye for an eye mentality? A ‘criminal’ may also have a family and family members. When a ‘criminal’ is punished his family member/s may suffer as well and in anguish may develop hatred for those punishing or relishing the punishment to the ‘criminal’. And if any one of them seeks revenge where do we stop? ‘Where there is love there is life’ advocated Mahatma Gandhi at all times and in all circumstances. According to Mahatma Gandhi fortunate people who have amassed wealth are trustees of the wealth in their possession which they must utilise for the benefit of the underprivileged people. The practice codes of the various religious scriptures also encourage keeping aside a proportion of one’s income for charitable causes. Gambhir Watts President Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia Publisher & Managing Editor: Gambhir Watts Editorial Page [email protected] Current Board of Directors Editorial Committee: J Rao Palagummi Catherine Knox Rajesh Katakdhond Office Bearers : [email protected] Designing Team: President Gambhir Watts Utkarsh Doshi Treasurer Catherine Knox J Rao Palagummi Chairman Emeritus Surendralal Mehta- President Bhavan Advertising: Worldwide [email protected] Company Secretary Sridhar Kumar Kondepudi Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia Suite 100 / 515 Kent Street, Other directors are: Sydney NSW 2000 Abbas Raza Alvi; Moksha Watts * The views of contributors to Bhavan Australia are not necessarily the views of Nominees of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Worldwide: Bhavan Australia or the editor. Homi Navroji Dastur, Executive Secretary and Director General Bhavan Australia * reserves the right to Jagannathan Veeraraghavan, Executive Director, Delhi edit any contributed articles and letters submitted for publication. Mathoor Krishnamurti, Executive Director, Bangalore Copyright: all advertisements and original Palladam Narayana Sathanagopal, Additional Registar editorial material appearing remain the P. A Ramakrishnan, Executive Vice Chairman, Puthoucode (Kerala) property of Bhavan Australia and may not be reproduced except with the written consent of the owner of the copyright. Bhavan Australia - ISSN 1449 – 3551 Articles & Focus Themes Restoring Our Connections 2 Cultures of the World - II 25 Mahatma Gandhi’s Martyrdom Day 5 India and the Sanctuary of Freedom 39 (Report) Culture of Peace and the Indian 7 Science in Ancient India 41 Education System A Fair Go For All Australians 12 Flash Back - Rewind 44 Gita and Human Rights 15 Dimdima Childrens Section 45 An Avatar in Jewish History 17 Holy and Wise 47 Innovation Inside 23 4 Interfaith Prayer Meeting. Mahatma Gandhi’s Martyrdom Day - 30 January 2008. The greatest apostle of peace Mahatma Gandhi observed his all religions’ prayers every day. On 30 January 1948, after breaking his fast against the Hindu - Muslim riots, as he was walking towards the altar for his evening prayers a fanatic Hindu shot him dead. This was perhaps the saddest day in the history of humanity. We at Bhavan Australia pay our humble tribute to Mahatma by commemorating this day Interfaith Prayer Meeting every since 2004.

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