Above the Clouds, Beyond Divisions...

Above the Clouds, Beyond Divisions...

The flight from Delhi to Mumbai climbed steadily through thick layers of clouds. The world below disappeared. For a while, there was nothing but endless white. Then, almost playfully, the sun would emerge through a gap, flood the aircraft with golden light, and disappear behind another curtain of clouds again.  It felt like a game of hide-and-seek.

As the aircraft began its descent, the clouds slowly parted and the familiar skyline of Mumbai emerged beneath us. In that transition between sky and earth, I went back to my childhood. Like many children of my generation, I had often heard our elders say, “Gods live above the clouds.”

As children, we accepted it without question. Even today, the feeling of looking upwards in wonder has never quite left us.

Perhaps that is how religion itself began.

Long before temples, churches, mosques, gurudwaras or monasteries, human beings looked at the rising sun, flowing rivers, towering mountains, trees, rain, fire and the vast sky with reverence. Nature inspired awe, gratitude and humility. Over time, these forces of nature acquired names, forms and stories, making the invisible easier to understand and the divine easier to relate to. Surya became the Sun God,  Vayu, the God of winds,  Agni, the God of Fire. Hawankunds were based on geometrical calculations. 

One of the most fascinating aspects of Hindu thought is how comfortably it accommodated symbolism alongside philosophy. The sequence of the Dashavatara is often interpreted as resembling the broad stages of biological evolution, from Matsya, the fish living entirely in water; Kurma, the tortoise inhabiting both water and land; Varaha, the land mammal; Narasimha, the half-man, half-animal form; Vamana, the early human; followed by Parashurama, Rama, Balarama and Krishna, each symbolising different stages of human civilisation and ethical evolution.

Whether this was intended as science or symbolism may always remain open to interpretation, but the parallel itself is remarkable.

Indian civilisation has also contributed profoundly to humanity's scientific and mathematical heritage from the concept of zero and advances in astronomy to sophisticated geometry, metallurgy and architecture. Spiritual inquiry and scientific curiosity were not necessarily seen as opposites. They often walked together.

Like every ancient civilisation, India's history too has witnessed periods of harmony as well as conflict. Different communities have interacted through dialogue, trade, migration and, at times, through painful episodes that remain subjects of historical debate. Such chapters deserve honest scholarship rather than prejudice. History should deepen our understanding, not diminish our humanity.

And perhaps there could be no better time to reflect on this than during Ganeshotsav.

Across Maharashtra and far beyond, Bappa arrives not merely inside homes but into neighbourhoods and public spaces. People gather before Vighnaharta, the remover of obstacles with folded hands, flowers, modaks, music and prayer. The celebration often reaches beyond individual faith: neighbours, friends and visitors from different communities participate in the joy, visit pandals and share in the festivities.There is something beautiful in that image. Different people. Different prayers. One celebration.

Perhaps that too is the spirit of Vighnaharta, to help us overcome not only the obstacles before us, but also the barriers we sometimes create between ourselves.

And then I looked again at the clouds outside my window. They do not distinguish between nations, religions or languages. They carry rain to every field. The sun shines on every home. Rivers quench the thirst of all who approach them.

Nature recognises no divisions. It simply gives.

What, then, is the enduring message that survives centuries?

Perhaps it is this: if our earliest reverence was for nature itself, then protecting nature must be among the highest forms of worship.

There is an added poignancy to that thought during Ganeshotsav. We welcome Bappa with such love; perhaps one way of honouring him is to celebrate in ways that also honour the earth, from the materials we use for our idols and decorations to the water we protect and the waste we leave behind.

Faith and responsibility need not be separate.

Today, when the world is confronting rising temperatures, extreme weather, polluted rivers, disappearing forests and the consequences of climate change, reverence for nature is no longer only a philosophical idea. It has become an urgent responsibility.

As our aircraft touched the ground, I realised that perhaps heaven is not somewhere above the clouds. We encounter a little of it whenever people come together despite their differences; whenever we choose harmony over division; and whenever we protect the natural world that sustains every one of us.

This Ganeshotsav, let us celebrate Bappa together across faiths, neighbourhoods and differences and turn devotion into action. At least next year, let us choose eco-friendly idols and decorations, reduce plastic and waste, protect water, and leave our rivers, streets and communities cleaner than we found them.

In honouring Vighnaharta, let us remove the obstacles we have placed in nature’s path and in one another’s hearts.

The earth beneath us and the sky above us belong to no single faith. They belong to all of us. Protecting them, together, may be one of the truest forms of worship and one of the greatest gifts we can leave future generations.

Ganpati Bappa Morya. May Vighnaharta unite our hearts and guide us towards a greener, kinder world.

R. Vimala, IAS Retired, MH 2009

Subject Matter Expert, CBC & YASHADA

Former Resident Commissioner, Maharashtra Sadan & Secretary, GoM,

Founder AnirvedShakti Foundation,

PhD Scholar at IIT Bombay 

Vignaharta's Homecoming : Removing Obstacles Together this Ganesh Chaturthi

Vignaharta's Homecoming : Removing Obstacles Together this Ganesh Chaturthi 

There is something very endearing about Shri Ganesh, our Ganapati Bappa. The gentle eyes, the large ears that seem to listen patiently, the little mouse at His feet, the modak in His hand and that expression of wisdom and warmth. Among the many forms in which we worship the Divine, Ganeshji somehow feels especially close to us. We worship Him as Vighnaharta, the remover of obstacles. No wonder we invoke Him before every new beginning.

As Ganesh Chaturthi begins the day after tomorrow, homes and pandals will once again resonate with the joyous chant : Ganpati Bappa Morya! But beyond the  celebrations and rituals lies a beautiful message for life. We often pray to God to remove the obstacles before us. Yet life teaches us that not every obstacle disappears, instead we are given the courage to cross it, open another door. A disappointment challenges us to discover a strength we did not know we possessed. A difficult journey introduces us to people who walk beside us. And sometimes what appears to be an obstacle becomes the very reason for a new beginning. So in reality,  Vighnaharta does not merely clear our paths,  He also gives us the wisdom to find a path where none seems to exist.

This thought has a special meaning for me this Ganeshotsav when Ganesh Sewa Mandal, ( Registered ), Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, celebrates the Silver Jubilee of its Ganesh Mahotsav. Twenty-five years of devotion, community participation and celebration!

For AnirvedShakti Foundation, it is a privilege to be associated with this special occasion in a small but meaningful way.

During the festival, the Foundation is supporting four Self-Help Groups and one small-scale enterprise established under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) through the Khadi and Village Industries framework, enabling them to bring their products before consumers in Delhi.

At first glance, this may appear to be simply about putting up stalls but for a small entrepreneur, a stall is not merely a stall. It is a market. It is visibility and an opportunity to meet a customer who has never encountered their product before. It is a chance to hear, “Your product is good. Where else can I buy it?” A question which can open an entirely new door.

And what is Ganeshotsav without modak,  Ganeshji’s beloved offering? This year also, our food stalls will bring some of the warmth and flavour of a Maharashtrian kitchen to the national capital. There will be steamed ukadiche modak as well as fried modak, along with puran poli, pakodas, zunka-bhakri, moong pakoda and dahi dhapate.

These are not merely items on a menu. Food carries memories, traditions and the identity of a region. A freshly prepared modak reminds us of Ganesh Chaturthi at home; zunka-bhakri speaks of the simplicity and strength of Maharashtra’s rural cuisine; and puran poli carries the unmistakable warmth of celebration. Through these women, we hope to bring an authentic taste of Maharashtra to Delhi from their kitchens and communities directly to the capital.

Alongside the aromas of Maharashtrian food will be another expression of enterprise and craftsmanship, a varied collection of bags for women and men, suitable for business, personal use and gifting. From practical office and laptop bags to handbags and pouches. The collection will also feature colourful Banjara-art pouches, traditional mirror-work patches and handcrafted designs that carry the individuality of Indian artisanship.

A modak, a bhakri, a handcrafted pouch or a business bag may seem like a small purchase. But behind each is a producer, a skill, a livelihood and an aspiration.

The obstacle for small enterprises is often not production. It is the market. During my years of working closely with women’s Self-Help Groups, I repeatedly saw something remarkable. Rural women could produce excellent food products, handicrafts and household goods. They could organise themselves, save, borrow, learn new skills and build enterprises. But one obstacle returned again and again: Where will we sell?

A woman may know how to make an excellent product. But producing something and building a sustainable enterprise around it are two very different things. She needs packaging, branding, transport, digital payments, customer feedback and, above all, consistent access to markets. That last mile can determine whether an enterprise survives.

This understanding is also at the heart of AnirvedShakti Foundation and our initiative "Shakti on Wheels"  taking products made by women closer to consumers rather than waiting for consumers to discover them.

The participation of these entrepreneurs at the Ganesh Sewa Mandal celebrations is another small step in the same journey.

From their small enterprises in a village to a festive marketplace in Delhi. From just making products to meeting customers. From livelihood to enterprise. From an obstacle to an opportunity.

There is another lesson in the image of Ganeshji that I find deeply meaningful. His vehicle is the tiny mushak,  the mouse symbolising that the gigantc and the tiny can coexist effortlessly.

This also carries a message for our economy.  Not everything meaningful has to begin big. A woman making papads from her home is an entrepreneur. A Self-Help Group preparing traditional foods is an enterprise. A young person starting a unit with support under PMEGP is building the foundations of industry and for me personally,  it is initiating Shakti on wheels 

Small beginnings deserve big opportunities. When we buy from such entrepreneurs, we are doing something more than purchasing a product. We are recognising their skill and strengthening their confidence. We are helping income travel back to a household and allowing an enterprise to take one more step towards independence.

Empowerment is strongest when it comes with economic agency and dignity. May we become faciltators in removing obstacles which we can.  Bappa is there to take care of bigger obstacles and so my prayer to Him is not only to remove the obstacles from our own paths but also to give us the strength to remove obstacles from someone else’s path.”

Sometimes we can do that simply by opening a door. By giving a woman entrepreneur space in a housing society, by inviting an SHG to a corporate campus, by buying a locally made product, by introducing a small producer to a larger market, by choosing opportunity over charity.

Because sustainable empowerment is not about doing things for people. It is about creating conditions in which people can move forward through their own ability, enterprise and determination.

As Ganesh Sewa Mandal, Laxmi Nagar celebrates twenty-five years of devotion, I hope the participation of these five small enterprises adds another dimension to the celebration and  devotion expressed through opportunity.

May Ganeshji, our beloved Vighnaharta, remove the obstacles before them. And may He also inspire each one of us to become, in our own small way, a facilitator  in someone else’s journey.

Ganpati Bappa Morya!

R. Vimala, IAS Retired, MH 2009

Subject Matter Expert, CBC & YASHADA

Former Resident Commissioner, Maharashtra Sadan & Secretary, GoM,

Founder AnirvedShakti Foundation,

PhD Scholar at IIT Bombay 

Krishna, Bhakti, and the Art of Living Unshaken..A reflection on Janmashtami...

Krishna, Bhakti, and the Art of Living Unshaken..

A reflection on Janmashtami...

Yesterday was Krishna Janmashtami. Many of us were fasting or praying to Krishna in different ways. As the familiar images of little Krishna with his flute, peacock feather, mischievous smile and butter pot appeared everywhere, I found myself thinking about why Krishna has always been a favourite God. Was it because, despite being a God, He feels so wonderfully human? Is it because we feel that he is not some distant divinity beyond our reach? 

Every other avatar arrives with a mission attached into His very posture. Rama walks upright with dharma on his shoulders, Narasimha tears through adharma with fury. Krishna, instead, arrives as a baby who had to be smuggled across a flooding Yamuna in the dead of night, hidden in a basket, so that a tyrant uncle does not kill him as he killed seven of his siblings before him. He lived amidst danger to his life.  He grew up surrounded by uncertainty yet he laughed, played, teased, loved, protected counseled and stood beside those who needed  him as much as he does for all of us now. So  somewhere in that journey, Krishna becomes more than a God we worship. He becomes someone we can turn to specially when in despair. 

Krishna's birth itself is deeply moving as he was born in a prison, to parents who had already suffered the unimaginable grief of losing seven children. There were no celebrations on his birth. Instead there was anxiety to keep him safe from Kansa. His father Vasudeva had to carry him  across the flooding Yamuna in the darkness of the night to save his life. It was a very unusual beginning for the one whom millions would later worship as their IshtDev. Maybe that is where lies the first lesson of Krishna's life, difficult circumstances at the beginning do not determine the destination.

Krishna's childhood too was always full of  danger. Putana and other demons came to kill him. There were repeated attempts on his life. Yet we always remember Bal Krishna, with joy and without fear. He reminds of laughter, of mischief as a little boy stealing butter, breaking pots, troubling the Gopis. Yashoda Maiyya runs behind him which tell us about the infinite God allowing himself to be chased and scolded by his mother. 

The image of Krishna as a young boy lifting Govardhan Parvat on his little finger is another learning. He encounters thunder, rain and fear with childful glee. For a bhakta, this act is a  metaphor as all of us encounter thunderstorms in form of illness or loss or  professional setbacks, financial worries, broken relationships, loneliness, disappointment or simply circumstances over which we have no control. At such moments, Krishna bhakti is very comforting because the storm may not stop but we can seek shelter beneath the mountain. Faith does not mean that difficulties will never come but in believing that Krishna would be our guiding light and that we are not alone. 

Of course, the Krishna of the Mahabharata is very different from the mischievous child of Vrindavan, yet he remains the same God engulfing us in his benevolence and love. He stood by the Pandavas through their long journey of injustice, exile, humiliation and war.

But he is remembered most as Draupadi's protector when she cried for his help during her darkest moment. That support has remained as  one of the most powerful symbols of surrender and faith. When every worldly support had failed  Draupadi turned to Krishna and his response is deeply reassuring to a bhakta. It does not mean that Krishna will magically remove every difficulty from our lives. The Pandavas themselves endured years of suffering despite having Krishna beside them.That itself is an important lesson.

God's presence does not necessarily mean the absence of struggle but it means receiving the strength, wisdom and direction to walk through it.

Another quality of Krishna that fascinates me is His composure. His life was filled with extraordinary challenges. He was born under threat, survived repeated attempts to be killed, had to leave Vrindavan, confront Kansa,  navigates kingdoms, alliances, egos and conflicts. He also had to stand at the centre of one of the greatest wars. And yet, the image we carry of Krishna is rarely one of anxiety. He is always smiling, playing flute, not worried about victory or defeat which teaches us that seriousness of purpose does not require heaviness of heart. We must learn to face difficult circumstances without allowing them to occupy every corner of our mind. We can do what needs to be done and still retain our inner smile. 

Another touching side of Krishna is his affection for Sudama, his childhood friend, when he visits him after many years. Krishna is now the king of Dwarka, while Sudama is still very poor.  He brings only a small gift of poha, beaten rice with jaggery which Krishna loved to eat.  Krishna welcomes him warmly, valuing the love behind the gift rather than its worth reminding us that true friendship rises above wealth, status, and time. Krishna understands Sudama’s needs even before he asks. Perhaps that is bhakti too the faith that the Divine understands even our silence. 

Krishna's greatest gift to humanity does not come in a temple or ashram but on a battlefield. When Arjuna was confused, overwhelmed and unable to act against his kin on the battlefield,  Krishna did not simply command him to fight.  He talked to him, explained duty, action, knowledge, devotion, discipline, the nature of the Self and the importance of equanimity. What followed was the Bhagavad Gita, a timeless masterclass in life management.

One teaching has travelled with generations is 

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। Our right is to action, not to the fruits of action. This is very difficult to practice since we want outcomes, appreciation, success and we get get frustrated when we don't get them. Krishna gently shifts our focus to doing karma sincerely and to the best of our ability. Also Krishna does not ask us to stop feeling. He asks us not to become prisoners of every passing emotion.

And after philosophy, reasoning, questions and answers, Krishna ultimately brings Arjuna to something beautifully simple trust when he says मामेकं शरणं व्रज।, Come to Me. Take refuge in Me.

And then He says those two words that have comforted countless hearts: मा शुचः। Do not grieve, Do not fear, which contains the entire journey of Krishna bhakti 

When the future seems uncertain or painful, Ma Shucha, not because nothing painful will happen, but because pain need not become permanent despair. Do your karma. Keep your dharma. Accept what you cannot control. And somewhere beyond your own limited ability to manage everything, learn to surrender.

Maybe this is why Krishna continues to fascinate generation after generation. He does not ask us to withdraw from life but enter it completely. Love deeply. Laugh freely. Fulfil our responsibilities. Stand against injustice. Protect those who depend upon us.Remain calm when circumstances become difficult. Perform our karma without becoming obsessed with its fruits.And when our own strength seems insufficient, surrender the rest.

That, for me, is the beauty of Krishna.

He is divine enough to lift Govardhan, yet human enough to steal butter.Wise enough to give us the Gita, yet loving enough to become Arjuna's charioteer. Powerful enough to change the course of history, yet accessible enough for a frightened heart simply to call, Krishna. Maybe that is why Krishna bhakti is so reassuring because somewhere between the flute of Vrindavan and the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Krishna teaches us how to live.

society...

R. Vimala, IAS Retd. MH 2009

Former Resident Commissioner & Secretary, Government of Maharashtra

Founder, AnirvedShakti Foundation

PhD Research Scholar, Centre for Policy Studies, IIT Bombay