The most important person in the world is ‘I’. The person whom we see in the mirror is none else but one who stands in front of the mirror. If you change, the mirror image will also change. That is the crux of the matter. It is you who have to change before you want to bring about a change in others. The story of the saint who advises the mother of a boy to come after fifteen days and after another fifteen days exhorts us to change ourselves, before we can chane others. All changes start from ourselves. Change yourself and the world will change. ‘Hum badlenge jag badlega’. The tragic fact is that we have been crying hoarse to get others to change, but we ourselves don’t want to change. When we change, things automatically change, concentrate on your yourself. “I am starting with the man in says—He asks—can you be the remember that no body in this world the mirror. I am asking him to change change that you want to see in the owes us any responsibility to help us his ways. And no message could environment ? Then ask yourself— in any thing, much less in helping us have been any clearer. If you want to can you be the full expression of non- to change ourself. As the local people make the world a better place, take a violence ? Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru say—you can see the heaven only look at yourself and then make the writes—Peace is not a relationship of when you die yourself. change.” —S. Garrett and G. Ballard nations. It is a condition of mind. The whole universe is a mani- Lasting peace can come only to festation of Divine Discontent. If you As charity begins at home, so the peaceful people. A world change can or I have that discontent, then there is change begins with the self. If you be brought about only by the changed an urge to do something. In case I or cannot change yourself, how can you people. In the words of Eller Wiesel— you are not content with ourself, expect others to change ? If I can not Mankind must remember that peace there will be no urge to change. Good become as I would like to be, what is not God’s gift to his creatures. It is wishes or good words are least useful reason have I to ask others to become our gift to each other. Change is in things like bringing about any as I like or say. To a sick physician, not brought about by any outside change in any thing, much less in our it is rightly said—physician heal- agency. It comes from within, by the personality. thyself. One who can not heal him- person him/herself. Everything in An old illustrative story is often self, how can he be expected to heal nature changes by itself. It is effort- told. A lady with her son went to a others ? There is a saying in India— less, as the cells forming our outer saint and requested him to do some- Do not believe these four persons—a form are changing every moment. thing so that her son may give up the young ascetic, a sickly physician, a But to bring about any change in our habit of taking too much of sugar. man, who claims to be a warrior, but personality, we have to make efforts The saint, after a pause asked her to has a wound on his back, and a and do so constantly. The world or come after a fortnight. The lady did chemist who goes from door to door for the matter of that nobody seems so. But the saint sent her back asking and claims to change copper and iron to be changing as everybody wants her to come after 15 days. This time, into gold. others to change. As Mark Twain the saint said something to the child Upanishads tell us that we are all says jocularly that Truth is a precious and in a few days, the mother was differentiated forms of one Reality. commodity, so nobody wants to part happy to see the desired change in We have to believe in that Reality with it and wants others to do so. The the boy. She went to the saint and without seeing it, as we do believe in result, no truth is to be seen in our asked him why he did not give his electricity without being able to see behaviour and the society. We tend to advice to the boy when she had gone it. Our relationships and mutual depend on others for every good for the first and the second times. sympathies give us the feeling that thing or the thing we would like to The saint said—‘‘I myself was we are some how joined or linked have, and we fail to do so and feel addicted to the habit of taking in together. So we have to see ourselves miserable about it. We must remem- extra sugar. I took a month’s time to as we see others. We have to do unto ber that dependence on others is a give up the habit, before I had any others as we wish to be done by potential cause of miseries. Those cheek to ask your son to do so.’’ them. It is not enough to say that we who depend on others better die at As Henry Davis Thoreau said are interconnected, we are different the time of birth, it is said. Has the once—things do not change, we aspects of one—the universal con- person in the mirror any right to change, “We can say when we sciousness. Srimad Bhagwat Gita in happiness, while the person on the change, things automatically change. chapter ten, gives a clear concept of other side of the mirror is waiting to If you want to see a change, con- unity. Many are sceptic about the take a chance like you. Happiness centrate on your ownself. This unity concept. How can it be trans- comes from independence, which one advice, the person in the mirror has lated into real life ? The answer to has to achieve oneself. No one else given me more than once. You, too, this lies in what Mahatma Gandhi would do it for you. All of us need to have it.” ●●● Modern India / 5 The Advent of European Commerce By about 1500 AD. Portuguese ● During his tenure he maintained competition with Moors for the Important ports of Malabar friendly relations with Vijay control of trade in the Indian ocean Coast by the close of the Nagar. became irresistible. On account of fifteenth century the geographical position of their 1. Cochin—Best of all the ports. Albuquerque’s aims in India Kingdom, the Portuguese had become 2. Quilon—Carried trade with China 1. To control Red Sea, Persian Gulf. the natural gardens of Christendom and Arabs. 2. Establishment of a Portuguese against the Moors of Africa. Impelled 3. Cranganore—Virtually Head quarter on the west coast. by religious fervour and by crusading independent. 3. Destroy Arab merchandise in the zeal, the Portuguese brought all their 4. Cannanore—Virtually Fort east and Malaya Peninsula. latent energies to serve the cause of independent commerce and colonisation. Prince Nuno Da Cunha (1529-38) : Henry the Navigator, promoted mari- Alvarez Cabral ● time exploration and visualised the Captured Diu from the Sultan of ● Seized an Arab vessel and founding of a maritime empire. He Gujarat. fitted out several expeditions. Within presented it to Zamorin. ● Captured Mombasa on the Afri- twenty years of his death, the Portu- ● The Arabs stormed Portuguese can coast. guese had proceeded beyond the factory during his period. ● Established factories at San delta of Niger. Bartholomew Dias, ● He secured the friendship of thome (Madras) and Hughli who followed him, prepared the way Cannanore and Cochin. (Bengal). for Vasco da Gama. His voyage is one of the main landmarks of geo- ● Vasco da Gama during second Joa De Castro (1545-48) : graphical exploration and removed voyage demanded the banish- ● The last important governor. all doubts as to the possibility of ment of every muslim resident ● His successors made no further reaching India by sea. from Calicut. conquest. (A) The Portugese ● Loposoares destroyed all the ● parts which were under Arab The Asiatic empire of The first efforts were made by influence. Portugal was divided into three Portuguese. independent precidencies ● Francisco de Almeida Prince Henry of Portugal encou- 1. Viceroy at Goa. ● The first Portuguese governor in raged voyages for the discovery 2. Governor of Mozambique India appointed on a three year of the sea route to India. 3. Governor of Malacca ● Bartholomew Diaz reached term. Cape of Good Hope in 1487. ● He built fortresses at Cochin, ● The Portuguese monopoly of the ● Vasco da Gama succeeded in Cannanore, Kilwa and Anja- Indian ocean continued till 1595. reaching India in 1498. diva. ● Sri Lanka were the first to revolt ● Vasco da Gama landed at ● Almeida was defeated in the against Portugal. Calicut on 21 May, 1498 which battle of Chaul by a confedera- ● An English naval fleet under is a landmark in the history of tion of the rulers of Egypt, Midelleton defeated Portuguese India’s Maritime trade. Turkey and Gujarat (January in 1611. ● 1508). Vasco da Gama reached the ● By a treaty the Portuguese reco- ● Malabar coast. Almeidia defeated the Trio in the gnised the right of the English to battle of Diu (Feb. 1509). reside and trade in all their Important Portuguese eastern possessions 1654.