Ajay0

Gandhi used teachings of nonviolent agitation and universal brotherhood as a social tool to unify Indian society which was highly fragmented along diverse casteist, religious, regional, racial and linguistic lines , and to channel their energies to fighting exploitative british colonialism back then . Through his personal example, speeches and writings ,discussions, rallies and social movements and so on, he created a unified , cohesive society and political movement against british colonialism. Many of his muslim friends and comrades also joined him in this venture . Khudai Khidmatgar was a non-violent, Pashtun muslim freedom movement against British rule in colonial India inspired by Gandhi. Founded in 1929 by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (also called Bacha Khan or the Frontier Gandhi), its members wore red shirts and worked nonviolently and progressively for social reform, education, and national unity. That Gandhi was able to unify such highly fragmented sections into a cohesive whole was a great success in itself and showcased his leadership skills. I don't think there is any other leader in the world that have achieved such a feat. This should be seen in the background and context of the regressive Hindu and Muslim societies back then in India stuck in primitive conditioning and consequent inter-religious disharmony, which was further inflamed by the British with their divide and rule policies which they had heavily invested in. While Gandhi's efforts were instrumental in unifying Indian society to a large extent, he was not able to overcome the partitioning of India on religious lines. However, India had survived intact for the last 80 years and is also on the road to great prosperity as the fastest growing major economy in the world for many years now. It is the fourth largest economy in the world and is forecast to displace the US as the largest economy in the world after a few decades. The stability which India enjoyed for many decades inspite of large-scale diversity, is mainly due to Gandhi's legacy of nonviolence which prevented the balkanisation of India sequencing to various small regional conflicts and wars , as has happened in Europe prior and during the two world wars and aftermath as well, and which had killed many millions of europeans then and now. You don't need to kill or maim anyone or destroy public property created by tax money, to make a religious or political statement. Just carrying a banner and uttering slogans or going on a fast will do. In Pakistan, inter-sectarian conflicts resulting in Sunni-Shia-Sufi-Ahmediya riots are commonplace resulting in deaths of thousands of muslims due to suicide bombings and riots, while the same do not take place in India. The only muslim scientist to get a Nobel prize in physics was Abdus Salam from Pakistan. However he was subjected to severe state and societal discrimination and prejudice in Pakistan due to his Ahmediya sectarian background. On the other hand he was treated respectfully and well in India when he came there, and received awards for excellence in science , and later stated that he was prouder to be called an Indian than a Pakistani. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a former Indian president of muslim identity and rocket scientist who played a major role in the Indian space programme. Kalam considered the message of non-violence India's greatest contribution to global civilization and believed humanity has yet to find a better tool than Gandhian thought to unite people and reach a common objective He frequently highlighted Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence and the convergence of minds as an unmatched model for resolving conflict and achieving national and international goals.

It is just artificially fabricated hatred due to political reasons. Imo, UK leaving EU to have its own identity, perhaps compelled it to support Nato against Russia more vocally to convince other europeans of their loyalty to the political idea of Europe. I say political, because geographically, racially and culturally, russia is part of europe. During the war against the french empire, the british considered the russians as their political ally, and the Duke of Wellington used to correspond with the ageing Russian general Suvurov and had a good relationship with him. The russian role in ending the napoleonic and nazi regimes, also created a lot of goodwill for them in the UK. The UAE, Saudi , Israel are powerful nations, and the UK do not want to unnecessarily create hostility with them. Russia however is perceived as a weak nation, both militarily and economically, and there is an abundance of western narratives painting Russia as an evil nation ever since the cold war due to heavy funding by capitalists worried about losing their wealth and pleasant lifestyle. So it is easier for them to foster perceived hostility against Russia, hoping to look like the good guys in the process and gain potential adulations.

There is a village in southern India where this festival takes place once a year among the farming community. The idea behind is to get rid of revulsion towards cow dung as it is a natural fertilizer of the farmer and part of organic farming. Most of the farming community is affluent, and usually arrogance and false pride comes with affluence . So this ritual is a way of grounding the youth in the traditional ways of the farmer. As a ten year old, I remember my own revulsion to taking cow dung with my hands while trying to help my grandmother who was tending her garden. Eventually after some time, I willed myself to overcome my aversion and take up the cow dung and transplant it to the plants in the garden. Cow dung is an important element of organic farming and is harmless and natural. Chemical fertilizers have been linked to higher rates of cancer and carcinogenic particles, neurotoxicity and so on. It is also a major pollutant of groundwater. https://www.kiripost.com/stories/overuse-of-chemical-fertilisers-linked-to-dangerous-nitrate-levels-in-food https://www.thenewlede.org/2023/09/nitrate-contaminated-water-may-drive-corn-belt-cancers/ https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2019/10/22/organic-food-better-environment/ Use of chemical pesticides have also been linked to tangible higher rates of cancer and dementia in many developed nations. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/another-3-common-pesticides-are-now-linked-to-parkinsons-disease-risk https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178124002178 https://www.downtoearth.org.in/environment/pesticides-raise-dementia-risk-32988 Natural bio-pesticides, crop rotation and beneficial insect habitats are used in organic farming instead to combat pests.

Right now one-tenth of the mind is conscious, and nine-tenths is unconscious; naturally it is nine times more powerful. The unconscious mind behaves in wrong ways; the conscious mind behaves in right ways. And the only religion there is, is the art of changing the unconscious mind into consciousness, so that you don't have the duality of unconscious and conscious but you have only one…a pure light, a pure consciousness. And out of that consciousness, everything is divine. ~ Osho Before you start making your songs and singing and dancing, create the right consciousness, the right awareness, so whatever comes out of you is a blessing for humanity, not a curse. ~ Osho Mind is a blessing with meditation, otherwise it is a curse. ~ Osho Hell and heaven are within you, both gates are within you. When you are behaving unconsciously there is the gate of hell; when you become alert and conscious, there is the gate of heaven. ~ Osho

Eloquently and coherently articulated. Thank you for this.

Chandrayaan 3's hop experiment have revealed a layered structure beneath the moon's surface. Understanding this layer is crucial for building future scientific bases and human habitats on the moon. India's Chandrayaan 3 is the first spacecraft from earth to successfully perform a soft landing on the moon's rugged and unexplored south polar region, and the experiments and data collected over there have provided insights with respect to crucial resources (like drinking water, oxygen, and rocket fuel) for future human colonies and deep-space missions. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2026/May/21/isros-chandrayaan-3-hop-experiment-reveals-layered-structure-beneath-moons-surface

European empires were oppressive to whites as well. Sectarian,religious and nationalistic wars claimed millions of lives in europe. Both the two world wars which originated in europe killed over a hundred million people. This was followed by the cold war between european nations, and the present russia-ukraine/nato war. The two world wars mainly fought between european nations had a positive in the global south perspective, in that it weakened the european powers to the point that they could not hold on to their colonies anymore, and many gained independence and became major powers in their own right. The fact that most european powers became second-rate powers in the new global order is one of the reasons why they decided to unite to form the EU and NATO so as to become a strategic power again, forgetting their past history of numerous conflicts and linguistic differences temporarily at least. At present they are using cultivated hatred against Russia to create unity and cohesion among themselves, but I am not sure whether they can stand on their own without a common external enemy to hate as a uniting force.

Comparatively speaking, the british had better value systems, and superior administrative, technological, legal and sociological structures compared to other european nations. This could be due to its geographic isolation that prevented numerous foreign invasions and resulting in long periods of stability, peace and consequent progress instead of regression in war and chaos. It's small size also brought about superior administrative skills and technological growth to make the most of their limited resources through necessity, similar to Japan. Har Dayal Sharma was an Indian freedom fighter who lived in europe , and after his observations there, came to the above conclusion that the Brits were superior to the other nations in europe. He even wrote a book praising British characteristics and comparing them favorably to other european nations. The Brits in India got hold of this book and even printed it at their own expense, as they were flattered by its theme. Consequently there was a moderate to good relationship between the UK and India even after India's independence. This was in stark contrast to the persistent hostility between the Dutch and Indonesia, the French and Vietnam/Algeria, Germany and Namibia, Italy and Libya, Portugal and Angola, Spain and Phillipines, Belgium and Congo,and so on in modern times due to large-scale atrocities and genocides perpetrated. Even in ancient europe, the atrocities of the romans in their european colonies antagonised much of their colonies to rebellion resulting in strife and conflict for many centuries.

India was a singular entity in religious scriptural history under emperor Yudhisthira, and in official recorded history as well under the emperors Chandragupta Maurya (350–295 BCE), Bindusara (320 BCE – 273 BCE), Ashoka the Great(304 – 232 BCE), Samudragupta (335–375 CE)and Vikramaditya (375-415 CE) to name a few. Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth century CE created four mathas or monasteries in the four distant corners of India showcasing its cultural unity. This singular identity and sovereignty was used by Indian freedom fighters and leaders to project their future vision of India back then during the freedom struggle against western colonialism. The Brits themselves were colonised by the Romans for centuries and the later Normans who now form the snobbish british upper class and suppressed the local english population. Much of the earlier Norman rulers of Britain only used French and did not even know english. Through conquest of Ireland and Scotland, the norman rulers created the foundation of modern UK as well.

Siddhis or psychic abilities are no major deal if you ask me. I myself as a conditioned atheist-materialist-rationalist teenager used to scoff and disparage theism and psychic abilities as baseless superstitions. However one of the greatest ironies for me was that I myself developed such psychic abilities later on through meditation and satsang (company of enlightened sages). I have met others as well who have such abilities. My perception is that anyone can develop psychic abilities if they put in the right efforts.

Ram Dass was not enlightened and he was experimenting with it without much knowledge. Neem Karoli Baba advised against drugs and only told him to use it if he was highly conscious or Self-aware... https://www.ramdass.org/ram-dass-gives-maharaji-the-yogi-medicine/ NKB played a prank on Ram Dass , taking a large amount of drugs at one occasion, only to have no tangible effects whatsoever due to his enlightened state. This could have affected any other unenlightened person adversely.

I thought this thread was related to the ongoing heat wave in europe that has led to the deaths of nearly 4000 people this year even before peak summer heat has begun. Around 15000 people died in europe in the 2025 heatwaves. Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, and I would say its environmental issues should take greater priority at the eyes of its leaders at present to prevent further such tragedies.

Drugs will not lead to a permanent state of nondual or unitary perception, known as nirvikalpa samadhi in sanskrit. It can help one to get a glimpse into higher states of consciousness with artificial means. However regular use of them instead of using meditation can lead to addiction to such drugs. Cravings for drugs actually create more vasanas or psychological impressions that strengthens duality rather than creating nonduality. Many crimes have been committed under the influence of drugs. The Nazis used drugs to stifle their sensibilities during their numerous crimes against civilians during invasions, though it is part of soldiering conduct not to harm civilians. The enlightened master Meher Baba stated that " Enlightenment is not found in a pill. " No user of drugs ever in the history of the world has attained the bliss and joy found in enlightenment. The bliss of enlightenment is also of a permanent nature in stark contrast to that of the temporary highs of drugs and alcohol charecterised by painful hangovers later on. Repeated use of drugs can also damage the capacity to meditate. Osho had talked on the nature of drugs ... https://www.oshotimes.com/insights/health/mind/understanding-addictions/ https://oshofriends.com/counseling/25566?__cf_chl_f_tk=RbUE3GRjnZBx7_74tdTc7FUm2O3nUz5CHQCVo.6JTOc-1783311572-1.0.1.1-qC_AAdLDjH0bKueYe61bBXwtWnr92JXMxGiG6uVMGGc https://oshofriends.com/counseling/32474

Lions and tigers eat other animals for survival. They do not kill other animals abundantly to deposit them in a bank account or convert them into good looking furniture. Due to human activity related to hunting, habitat destruction and poaching, around 60 percent of global animal population in the last 50 years have become extinct, as per scientists, which shows how dysfunctional humans have become and out of sync with nature, existence and environment around them. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/30/humanity-wiped-out-animals-since-1970-major-report-finds Also, due to heavy hunting and poaching, most lions and tigers are close to extinction. India is the only country that has at present lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards and cheetahs in its jungles at present. European trophy hunters have been accused of mass murder of even endangered animals like cheetahs for their skins, and which are essentially harmless to humans. I had created a thread in this regard.. As I said earlier, thought is a double-edged sword that has both destructive and constructive aspects, and how it is wielded depends on the consciousness of the one who wields it. Many great civilizations came down due to a lower state of consciousness in its leaders. Germany had the best philosophers, scientists and engineers in the world in the first half of the twentieth century, but poor leadership by the likes of Wilhelm Kaiser and Adolf Hitler brought the nation down to ruin and disrepute through the two world wars which originated in europe. U.G.Krishnamurti have also expounded on the destructive aspect of thought, and have lamented that it is not used for functionality alone. Some sayings of his in this regard...

"Love is the natural condition of all experience before thought has divided it into a multiplicity and diversity of objects, selves and others." ~ Rupert Spira "Love is not sensation; it is a flame without smoke... When the heart is empty of the things of the mind, and the mind is empty of thought, then is there love. That which is empty is inexhaustible." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti “In any relationship, especially marriage, be as free of compulsive thinking as possible. In other words, the more space there is in the relationship - inner space - the more love there is because love arises out of the inner spaciousness.” ~ Eckhart Tolle You are solidified silence, awareness. A thousand hours of speech cannot equal one glance: a hundred glances cannot equal a minute of silence. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar