Manu & Kaun(si)haya Kumar – A perspective from the ‘3rd eye’

‘PRALAYA – THE DELUGE’

It was a boat on the rough seas with angry waves lapping it up, down & sideways. It seemed as if all hell had broken loose. The entire planet earth seemed to have been sucked in by a vast ocean.

This boat had no mechanical equipment to row it with, no diesel motors no engines, no pumps to drain water out of it. Huge unruly waves of the sea had almost filled it up with water & it seemed to engulf it at any moment. It had neither GPS nor any modern navigational gadgets. Heavy winds were blowing from all directions & the dark clouds overhead were pouring sheets of water as if they would not get a second chance. Intermittent lightening & thunder of the clouds was frightening.

The occupants could see hundreds of dead bodies of humans, animals & birds afloat on the horrifying sea. Houses had been washed away, trees uprooted & there seemed to be nothing left on this earth. They saw no life anywhere except on this boat. Frightened & exhausted men, animals & birds were keeping company on this boat. Some of the occupants were emptying the boat of water with whatever they could lay their hand on.

The occupants of the boat were exhausted & tired. Still they were trying hard to keep it on course with whatever means they had at their disposal, but on course to which place for there was water everywhere. In fact they were trying just to keep it afloat. They did not know where to look for land that could provide them relief & shelter. There were around nine people on board with a large number of animals & birds of all kinds. They were also carrying with them seeds of different type of plants & grains which they had painstakingly stacked in a safe section of the boat for use if they could ever find a patch of land somewhere. You could see fatigue & stress on the faces of the occupants. Stress & worry was visible on the faces of the animals & the birds too. They too had not eaten or drunk anything for days on end. Their stocks of eatables had almost finished on the boat. The men & probably the animals & birds too were praying to God for end of this misery & for their redemption.

One of the occupants of the boat, through the smoggy environment & eyes blinded by the pouring rain, saw a silhouette of something big moving in their direction in the unruly sea. He brushed his wet long hair aside & cleared his eyes to have a closer look at what it was that was coming on to them but was not able to comprehend it. He had never seen a fish or an animal of this size in his life though he too had lived on sea side all his life in the “Dravid” Kingdom. This kingdom was once flourishing in all walks of life but over a period of time had become victim of vice & treachery. Subjects of this kingdom had forgotten the values of life & were ever ready to fleece the poor & sing paeans to the rich & the powerful. The poor were becoming poorer & the rich were becoming richer. Social system of the society had almost collapsed. This calamity, people in the boat thought, was the nature’s way of correcting the wrongdoings.

In fact one of the persons on board this boat was foretold about the calamity that was going to befall on this kingdom. It was on the basis of this information that they constructed this boat & made a promise to each other that they shall stay together & if given a chance shall continue to follow the path of righteousness. These were the righteous people of the kingdom they had left behind.

On seeing this big beast swimming in the direction of their boat at a ferocious speed & create huge water waves, further endangering the lives of the occupants, this person alerted the other occupants. Through the pouring rain & hazy eyes they could see a big fish with a horn on its forehead dashing on to their boat with a ferocious speed. Occupants of the boat were horrified. Some of them started murmuring & others started praying to Him at the top of their voice for His mercy. Excepting for the prayers & the name of God they had nothing with them with which they could have defended themselves. However, to their amazement, when the fish started nearing the boat it reduced its speed & turned parallel to the boat. Its overtures were friendly. It seemed to understand the distress of the occupants of the boat. Slowly but surely it came nearer to the boat as if conveying some message to the occupants. On seeing the friendly overtures of the giant fish the occupants became very cautious & started watching its movements with great concern. This was the first sign of life witnessed by the occupants of the boat since the rain started pouring ferociously drowning everything on this earth.  There was a large snake coiled to the horn of the fish as if unaware of the deluge. As soon as the fish positioned itself parallel to the boat the snake hurled its tail on to the hull of the boat & tied itself up on to whatever came its way. The occupants of the boat were horrified. Till now they were controlling the boat, so to say, but now they were being towed at merciless speed through the rough turbulent seas, lightening & thunder & pouring rain to an unknown destination. They tried to break their boat loose of the grip of the huge snake but it would not let the boat go of its vice like grip. In desperation they again started praying to God & ultimately left their fate to His mercy.

They did not know when they had dozed off but when they woke up they found themselves anchored on to the side of a large island amidst the huge sea. The island was full of tall & majestic green trees the kind of which they had never seen in their lives. The ground underneath the trees was full of green grass & wild flowers. The big fish & the snake had vanished. They looked around but there was no life around. The rain also was slowing down & there was a glimmer of hope that the weather may open up & things might change.

The people aboard the boat, Manu, his wife & “Saptrishis” were mesmerized by the happenings over last few weeks. With an effort they brought the boat nearer to the island & one by one got down from it & stepped on to the island, hungry & thirsty. From the shore of the huge unruly ocean they could see nothing alive. It was water & water all over. Not a bird or an animal could be seen. It was “Pralaya”.

Far away they could see some beautiful snow-capped mountains.

The Manu who got down from the boat was Vaivasvata Manu (also called Shraddhadeva or Satyavrata), the seventh one & who was to begin a new eon. Human race got its name ‘manav’ after the sage Manu. After him seven more Manu’s are slated to come. On disembarking on to the island all the occupants of the boat prayed to God. They prayed to Him for mercy. They touched the land on which they had stepped on with their forehead & anchored their boat. Manu was back to work along with his companions after some rest. One by one they brought down all the animals & birds from the boat & set them free in the forest. Surprisingly for them the seeds of plants & vegetables that they had brought with them had also survived the journey.

Manu & his wife, their companions the ‘Saptrishis’, birds, animals & the seeds they had brought with them had to start a life, anew, once again.

And a new life did start.

Water of the ‘pralaya’ started receding. Land started appearing once again & there was hope all around, hope of a new future. With the passage of time the ‘people of the boat’ built their huts, started tilling the fields, sowed seed for producing grains, pulses & vegetables. Manu had ten children. Amongst them were Ikshwaku & Ila who became progenitors of Surya & Chandra ‘vansh’ respectively. Into ‘Surya vansh’ was born Shri Ram at a very later stage & into ‘Chandra Vansha’ was born Shri Krishan.

Slowly but steadily evolution of a new society started. The society that evolved over the years & centuries started gathering knowledge through experiments, observations & discourses that resulted in enrichment of its philosophy & culture. It enriched individuals too. Strides were made in the fields of agriculture, science (as of those times), astrology & astronomy. There was no distinction between men & women nor between people on the basis of work did they perform. People were free to choose their profession & all professions were given equal respect & people were honoured. They had ‘gurukuls’ where children & adolescents were taught various aspects of life. With the passage of time they had kings & village councils that would take decisions at local levels. The basic concept of decision making was welfare of the people at large. Slowly populations started growing & people started dispersing. Villages & small towns started coming up. The further these people went they started inventing new ways of life based upon the general environments of these places.

As long as the society was homogeneous, the issues were negligible. As the population & dissimilarities started growing issues of bread & butter started cropping up.

ADVENT OF KAUN(SI)HAYA KUMAR:

One day Manu was having siesta after ‘falahar – lunch comprising of fruits’ when he heard some commotion. Being half asleep he could not make out the cause of the noise. Shouting, clapping & cheering continued & seemed to be coming closer. Manu got up & tried to see through the vegetation surrounding his nicely laid out hut but he could not see anything. He called the ‘Saptrishis’ but they too were not sure about what was the noise about. He called some of his companions & asked them to find out as to what was happening. This sort of noise was unusual for the community that had sprung up in this area after the great deluge. The noise was continuous & seemed to be coming closer to where Manu, ‘Saptrishis’ & others were seated.

Meanwhile one of the associates of Manu brought the news that a large group of young boys & girls wanted to meet him. These youngsters were shouting slogans against Manu.

Manu had seen the worst of times in this world & was modest in nature. He said he had no hesitation in meeting them. When the group started coming closer, Manu could hear the slogans distinctly….’hum ko kya chahiye .. aazadi, Cheen ke lenge … aazadi …’. Manu … murdabad, Manuvad …. murdabad.

Manu was shocked at the sight of this unruly mob pouring into his compound. The crowd of the youngsters continued to shout slogans, clapping, cheering & jeering. Manu was surprised at tenacity & lung power of these boys & girls. Some people of the commune tried to reason with the slogan shouting mob but they were in no mood to listen. Security people came in but they too could not control them. Manu was told that the young, short, stout & loud mouthed person was the leader of the group & his name was Kaun(si)haya Kumar. He was also informed that he was from the JNU, a famous ‘gurukul’ & had been continuing his studies there for quite some time.

After a while the slogan shouting stopped & Manu, finding a chance to speak addressed this gathering & asked them to explain as to what their problem was.

Kaun(si)haya Kumar rose up to speak amidst loud cheers & slogan shouting. He addressed Manu contemptuously & held him responsible for the continuing ills of the country that is India. He accused him of being responsible for the ‘varanashram dharam’ because of which the high castes of the society were sucking the blood of the lower castes & those living on the fringes of the society, like leeches. He also told him that because of his philosophy the country was going to the dogs & is destined to remain a poor country.

He added that with the new Government in place in the country since 2014 the problems had increased manifold. He told him that the ‘Brahmanical’ order was destroying the nation as they always refer to his book called ‘Manu Smriti’ & impose its tenets on the religion they call Hinduism.

As soon as ‘Manu Smriti’ was mentioned by Kaun(si)haya Kumar all hell broke loose &  members of the team took out copies of the book & amidst high pitched slogan shouting, clapping & jeering made a bonfire of them. They started dancing, clapping, shouting & singing songs against Manu while dancing around the bonfire. Manu saw that a large group of other people had also surrounded this unruly group of youngsters & holding some equipment in their hands & were directing it on to them. Some were also operating equipment from tripod stands & speaking into some equipment that he later was informed was microphone. Other equipment held by them, Manu was told, were the mobiles into which the members of the new group would speak almost continuously.  He wondered how far the world had come after the ‘pralaya’. He also noticed that the group under Kaun(si)haya Kumar had become more unruly, vociferous & loud after the arrival of this new team. A prominent face in the new arrivals was said to be that of ‘BD’. Manu noticed that ‘BD’ was very well known to the unruly crowd & was giving orders to her group of new arrivals. He noted that she was boisterous too.  Manu was told that the new arrivals were in fact TV journalists & their technical staff who were beaming all this ‘tamasha’ to their viewers in India.

Manu could not understand the words ‘TV’ & ‘beaming’ etc. but soon realized that this was 2016 & thought that science might have invented something similar to what ‘Sanjay’ used for narrating running commentary on the war between ‘Kauravas’ & ‘Pandvas’ at ‘Kurukheshtra’ to  ‘Dhratrashtra’ while sitting in the palace at ‘Indraprasth’.

It became unbearable for Manu. He was not prone to lose patience, though; he thought whether it was for this that he & his colleagues had taken so much pain & trouble after ‘pralaya’ so that the earth could become inhabitable once again. His mind raced through those devastating times, thousands of years back. The efforts, they had to put in to ensure survival also passed through his mind like a flash of light. The big fish that set them ashore a completely unknown place that was full of forests. Forests so dense that even rays of the sun would not penetrate their foliage. There was nothing to eat or drink & he & his companions had to go through unimaginable suffering to create even basic facilities required by humans. They had to shudder through intense cold during the winter months.

He also remembered the young boy, Kanhaya Kumar, similar to the one in front of him now & almost of the same age, very humble & polite & his colleagues, boys & girls, who had come visiting him. They discussed various issues facing the communities that were under the process of evolution & the herculean task these young boys & girls were undertaking to come out successful. They spoke about the way they would get under the skin of the problems of the society in order to resolve them. Constructing huts, putting their efforts in improving agriculture were other areas of their work. Education was under a very nascent stage of development. Resolution of social issues was another area of importance. Overall things were moving in a planned, orderly & efficient manner.

Kanhaya Kumar raised the issue of unemployment amongst the youth of the society that was evolving. He said that because of undefined job description tensions would sometimes flare up between individuals & also amongst groups. Manu thought over the issue & after some time said that there were only four types of jobs that he could think of for the society & as such the inhabitants of the communities could take up any of these jobs as per their choice, liking & aptitude. He defined the jobs very precisely & said that it was defence of the communities from aggressors, quality education for children & teenagers, agriculture, business & trade & finally the services for the community. Kanhaya Kumar & his colleagues tried to understand what Manu had said. After deliberations over the subject over a few months they came to the conclusion that under the circumstances this was the best option.

Soon the word spread. There was a complex & total churning in the society. Men & women started looking for new avenues for themselves. It was important for them to fit into any one of the cultural divisions & obviously the jobs defined by Manu so that they could live a life of recognition in the society. They would also crave, later, for recognition in the field of their expertise. The going was good, as they thought, for everyone & there was respect for whatever each one of them was doing. Everyone was contributing to the advancement & welfare of the fast developing society. Unknown to them these ‘MANAVS’ of ‘MANU’ had started a process the impact of which would continue to last for thousands of years. Manu had never thought that  condition & social status of the ‘MANAVS’ would start getting defined & limited, over a period of time, initially, by the work they would perform & eventually the work chosen by them would also define their caste. He wouldn’t have visualised that this division of society, which essentially was division of labour, would make water & airtight compartments which, over the centuries, would define status of people & their social & economic order. He had never thought that the order that he was creating, at that point in time, will become so much contentious that even after thousands of years he will be cursed for it.

Manu was pulled out of his thoughts by the resumption of sloganeering by Kaun(si)haya Kumar & his team. Manu asked them to calm down & tell him about their problems. Kaun(si)haya Kumar told him that they were distressed by the rules framed by him that later on came to be called Manu Smriti & its impact on the Indian society. He told him that he will continue to burn copies of his books as long as the discrimination in the society was not rooted out. Manu asked Kaun(si)haya Kumar to calm down & listen. He told him that thousands of years ago he had devised this method to mitigate the problems of that particular ‘kaal’ – time & he had no intention of dividing the society permanently on the lines of the work people performed. He said that every work was important for the society & there was nothing like respectable or unrespectable job as long as it was for the benefit of the ‘Manavs’. Manu also told him that the people came to be called ‘manavs’ only after his name. He told Kaun(si)haya Kumar that individuals were always respected, during the old times of his, irrespective of what work they did. He said that he only propagated ‘Manav Dharam’ & this ‘Dharama’ was always non-discriminatory. Over a period of time this ‘Dharma’ came to be called Hinduism.

He asked Kaun(si)haya Kumar as to what was he achieving by burning of books? He told him that burning of books might give him space in prime time of TV channels of ‘BD’ & TRP to those who cover it but it changes nothing. The change has to come from within. It is for the leadership of Hindu religion to sit down & discuss the issues arising out of the caste system that has been a drag on it over hundreds of centuries, has impacted it negatively & they should come up with a solution. Manu also told ‘Kaun(si)haya Kumar that the situation was changing slowly & was visible to a discerning eye. He told him that inter-caste marriages, for example, were taking place during Ramayana, Mahabharata & Vedic times & same is happening with more frequency even now & such changes are going to break down the barriers that existed earlier. He also told him that during the present times most of the Hindus are performing jobs that do not conform to the division of work enunciated earlier & it does not make them higher or lower caste. Today a large number of Hindus are working in service sector & does that make them any different from those working in other sectors. He asked Kaun(si)haya Kumar & his friends as to what locus-standi did they have in such matters when they are basically communists & as such issues of Hinduism should be left to Hindus to resolve. He asked his Muslim friends in the team to clarify first as to whether they were Muslims or Communists. Manu told them that they better take care of their own Religion first before talking of Hinduism. He enquired of them as to how can a Muslim be a Muslim & a Communist too. A Muslim who is also a Communist has basically gone ‘astray’ which is against the first chapter of the Holy Book of the Muslims.

He also asked him that since caste divisions were a bane then why they have also percolated & seeped into other religions, functionally, that propagate that they have more equality & fraternity within their ranks. For example why do you have Dalit Christians & Dalit Muslims too?  They certainly are not my creation, he said, as these religions came on earth much later than ‘Manav Dharam’ or Hinduism as it is being now called. He looked out for ‘BD’, the TV journalist, & asked her, as to why the issues arising out of caste divisions within Islam & Christianity, which are peculiar to India alone, are not discussed on her TV channel. She was also asked as to why she does not write columns in newspapers about the caste practices being followed in these religions. ‘BD’ tried to argue agitatedly but Manu stopped her. He told her bluntly that she was discriminatory in targeting Hindus on her TV channel. He asked her that when she takes ‘wazwan’ in a Kashmiri Muslim marriage party does she allow her driver, ‘safai walla’ & her cook to partake food in the same ‘trami’. If she doesn’t then is she also not discriminating with them on the basis of their profession or may be ‘caste’.

He gave her another example of her one sided reporting. He asked her as to if she has ever entered the sanctum sanctorum of ‘Dargah, Hazratbal’ in Srinagar, where she is a regular visitor. She said that that area is traditionally out of bounds for women & tried to brazen it out with Manu, but he had already been worked up because of her attitude.  He asked her if traditionally that place is out of bound for women then why she tries to pick holes in such traditions of Hinduism alone & make them issues of individual & women freedom. Entry of women to all Hindu temples should be allowed, of course, but why discriminatory reporting. Why she considers tradition of one religion ‘good’ & similar tradition of other religion ‘bad’. Of course Hinduism needs to reform on such issues.

Meanwhile Kaun(si)haya Kumar was feeling isolated as the discourse had shifted between Manu & ‘BD’. He & his cohorts restarted shouting ‘hum ko kya chahiye aazadi…….’. Manu stopped them & asked them as to what they meant by aazadi? He asked them as to what more ‘aazadi’ they were aspiring or looking for? He told them that they already had more ‘aazadi’ than it is available in any other part of the world. Here they could shout, abuse, cast aspersions on individuals & groups without any proof or reason & still could get scot free. Kaun(si)haya Kumar tried to wriggle out of the situation & said that it was not him but some Kashmiri outsiders who had raised these slogans. Manu sternly asked him not to hide behind a smoke screen. He told him to be a man & admit what had actually transpired. He reminded him that such nefarious designs had already resulted in mayhem & bloodshed in 1947 & Kaun(si)haya Kumar should desist from siding with such elements.

Manu told Kaun(si)haya Kumar that reform of Hinduism, which is 80% of India’s population is possible only from within & not by burning books & raising slogans that harm the interests of the Indian nation. He told him that by raising slogans & resorting to other gimmicks he might become a political leader with a certain shelf life, but not a reformer & as time passes the fate of the down trodden will still remain unchanged even if he becomes the Prime Minister of the country.

To ‘BD’ he had a message. He told her that unbiased reporting is good for the Nation & the society, but when you are biased you lose your credibility & this is what has already happened with her.

He narrated an example from one of her interviews with Shri Jaggi Vasudev where she said that ‘Dalits have no Devtas’. Manu told her that though he does not subscribe to today’s idiom of ‘Dalits & Mahadalits’ & upper castes or ‘swarans’ as they were Manavs that he created & not today’s subdivisions based on one’s pedigree & divisiveness brought about by politics, but the ‘Devtas’ in Hinduism were created by none other than ‘Dalits’ like Saint Valmiki. Rama & Ramayan was a creation of Saint Valmiki. Ved Vyas, one of the most important pillars of Hinduism was born of Prashar Rishi & ‘Matasyagandha’- a fisherwoman. He systemized the four Vedas & authored Mahabharata. Ved Vyas wrote 18 ‘Puranas’ & ‘Brahama Sutras’ which are important texts of Hindu Religion. The holy book of Hindus, the Bhagwad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata written by Ved Vyasa. As such the ‘Devtas & Devis’ created by him are revered every Hindu & not just by one section. So how can one say that there are no ‘Devtas’ for ‘Shudras’? Rishi Kamban, Matang & Vidur had pedigree that was not ‘swaran’, but they were the shining stars of Hinduism & contributed to its rich literature & religious traditions. The ‘Bhakti’ movement produced such saints like Chokhamela, Nandanar, Harichand Thakur, Guru Ravi Das, & many others who were revered & followed by every Hindu irrespective of his or her caste. He asked ‘BD’ that if the ‘Devtas & Devis’ of Hinduism were creation of ‘Dalits’ than where is the question of them having separate ‘Devtas or Devis’. ‘Devtas & Devis’ in Hinduism are ‘Devtas & Devis’ for everyone in this creed. Manu asked ‘BD’ whether this question was as a result of her ignorance or a deliberate mischief to show Hinduism in bad light.

Manu’s message was clear: this country will attain greater heights only if Hinduism, that constitutes 80% of its population, is reformed & the cowebs that have chocked its interiors & blurred its exteriors are thoroughly dusted. Hinduism, otherwise, is a Religion that preaches pluralism, inclusiveness & has unmatched treasure of philosophy, culture & tradition to its credit. It is a religion that teaches ‘karuna & daya’ & does not preach conquests for spreading or imposing its thoughts over others. In the words of Shri Jaggi Vasudev, India has been a Nation of seekers & not followers through the ages & it is for this reason that they have not been conquerors. Hinduism has to & must reinvent itself for the 21^st century & beyond.