- May 30, 2023
- Biman Das
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The Civilisational Importance of Auspicious Moorings
The morning of Jyestha 8th, 1945 Saka (May 28th, 2023 A.D. Gregorian) opened to a day that appeared pompous to many but may hold the key to undoing the spiritual mistakes done by our forefathers. While supporters and critics argue about the infrastructure and economic causes for the construction of the new building, very few may be able to grasp the spiritual importance this simple decision may hold for our civilisation. The need for the creation of a new parliament building had been simmering for quite a long period of time. It became all the more important considering the last delimitation was done so on the basis of the 2001 census but the number of constituencies was not increased despite an increase in population. The number of seats in the parliament has been frozen since 1973, leading to ever-increasing pressure on states such as Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh at the cost of others such as Kerala and Mizoram which have a much lower per capita electorate than their peers. The next delimitation is almost certain to benefit the status quo as the regions the ruling party performs best will gain the most seats. There has been a hue of opposition from states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu that stand to see their presence diminish in the electoral landscape, pushing their voices into irrelevancy. The dread among the people of these regions has opened the grounds for opposition to capitalise on in hopes of increasing their electoral prospects in the upcoming general elections. Arguments on the waste of taxpayer money, extravagance and demagoguery are merely pretences to avoid the burning question of electoral competence. While all these topics do appear amusing to debate upon, there are much more important historical threads that one can unravel if one perceives the same things from a spiritual perspective. Many learned men consider the existence of the outgoing parliament building to be highly inauspicious in nature because of the manner in which it was constructed. Merely a decade after the inauguration of the parliament building, India had to bid bye to Myanmar which had been part of India until then, despite the natives voting decisively to be retained. If the loss wasn’t enough for Indian nationalists, a bigger storm was brewing following the Khilafat movement that sought to reinstate the Ottoman empire. The eventual outcome of Gandhi’s short-sighted vision resulted in the greatest forced exodus in human history. The midnight of 14-15th August 1947 was considered highly unfavourable by many wise astrologers who predicted great bloodshed and troubles for the nation ahead. Mountbatten, however, considered the date important to the British crown as this same date marked the surrender of the kingdom of Japan, one of their biggest enemies just two years prior. This day continues to be celebrated in the West as “Victory Over Japan Day” (or V-J Day in short). What followed is well known to all, being a horrific tale of rampant destruction and chaos that uprooted many families and left many individuals orphaned. Much like the ominous background regarding the inception of the present republic, the foundation of the old parliament building is also mired in dark shrouds of history. Not many may know that the original site where the foundation of the old parliament was changed in the dark abyss of midnight. The foundation stone had been already laid down by the British monarch, but the site did not live up to the expectations of the architects, namely Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, who ordered the stone be moved to the village of Malcha in the now-famous Raisina hill. The task to supplant the original location was handed out to Sir Sobha Singh, who is known infamously for his sketchy testimony against the martyred Bhagat Singh. Singh notably carried the stone 11 kms away from its previous residence in the cover of the darkness and had it replanted into the present ground1. The same site had previously been the ground for the brutal massacre of 1,12,000 innocent inhabitants of the region on March 21st, 17392. The genocide was considered so brutal that it did not spare even the women and the children, leaving behind a trail of the fallen people. It comes as no surprise because the same land would be considered unholy to be made the political core of the nation. The eventual loss of Myanmar and then Pakistan (including Bangladesh) may be argued to be the ill effects of the cursed ground where the inaudible screams of the deceased still continue to cry out for salvation. The elaborate homam (havan) to consecrate the upcoming institute of power may just be one of the several steps to negate the negative outcomes of the previous decisions that undid the nation’s territorial sanctity. The sengol (the sacred spectre), which has now been placed beside the Speaker’s chair in the Lok Sabha, is considered to have holy powers on account of the presence of Nandi, the mount of Mahadeva. The Home Minister of the nation, Amit Shah noted that the sceptre was previously sent to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with the expectation of having it put in a place of power, but he decided to keep it locked up in a museum instead. The present administration now has brought the sengol back into the limelight so that it continues to ward off the consciousness that had been troubling the nation until now. Back from the brim of irrelevancy, only time can tell if this remembrance of the legacy of the mighty Cholas can indeed turn the fortunes of the once glorious nation that is attempting to regain her lost glory. The importance of accordance with the Vaastu shastra and promising periods of divinity will continue to seem minuscule in the short term but have effects that only play out in the long run. References Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism: S-Z. Edited by Harbans Singh, Punjabi University, 1992. Saggu, Devinder Singh. Battle Tactics and War Manoeuvres of the Sikhs. Notion Press, 2018. Image provided by the author- May 29, 2023
- Venkataraman Ganesan