' Enlightened Citizenship '
The Origin from Hindu ‘scriptures’
The Five Vows
The Hindu Online
more to come ......
The Origin
The Origin of ‘Enlightened Citizenship’ from Hindu ‘scriptures’
Whenever people for whatever reason decide to establish an organisation; the founding principals get together & thoroughly discuss proposals for the name of the organisation & unanimously agree with its final aims & objectives. It is clear the name would be representative & reflective of its aims & objectives. The founding principals would each contribute to the discussion & deliberation after serious intellectual engagement.
It is clear FUREC is a religious Organisation founded by multi-faith religious/spiritual leaders in India. Jilani mia (JM) in his ‘Declaration of Truth’ [page 9 – Eng. Trans] states:
“1. It is clarified that after the communal riots in Gujarat in October 2003 at Surat, a meeting of inter-faith religious leaders was held at the behest of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India. Faqeer Ashrafi was also invited as an adviser in the deliberation. (Foundation for Unity of Religions and Enlightened Citizenship) was established in June 2004 in New Delhi which came to be known in short (FUREC).”
It is clear the ‘multi-faith religious leaders’ got together to establish a religious organization, setting out to revive & propagate an old ideological thought & to fulfill the aspirations of the President of India to:
“I seek the help of the religious leaders and to be the partners in the national development task leading to a developed India by 2020”
[FUREC website: Speeches>>Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam>>Surat Spiritual Conclave: 15 October, 2003]
The Five Vows
“In the following article are given five vows of a learner. They were set forth by Swami Nirvedananda, an eminent educationist and a monastic disciple of Swami Brahmananda, the first President of the Ramakrishna Order. These vows received Swami Brahmanandaji's approval and blessings (vide 'Swami Nirvedananda: Jeevani O Rachanadi Sangraha', p.52, published by Ramakrishna Mission Students Home, Belgharia, West Bengal). The purpose of these vows is to enumerate and restate the aim of education (acquisition of knowledge, skill and character), and how to achieve it. This is an attempt to live with the changing educational scenario without losing touch with the ancient roots of Indian Culture.
Called vidyarthi homa mantras, these vows are administered to fresh entrants in many schools run by the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in different parts of India. The students participate in a homa (fire ceremony) and offer their oblations in the sacred fire. Some of the schools, especially those with resident students, publish these vows in their students' school diary. Considering their vital importance for the student community at large and their sheer beauty of composition, these are being published here with translation and annotations. The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order.
Administering a pledge to a student is common in most educational institutions. A pledge is a kind of vow (`vow' has a religious significance) that a student promises to keep. The young mind is capable of both—defying all norms and rules, or to meticulously follow and go to any extent to live up to their ideals. If a youth can harness his own potential, much of his present or later day problems can be nipped in the bud. Though every youth has his own specific temperamental needs and problems, there are some broad principles that everyone should learn to follow early in life. Swami Vivekananda said, `If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library.' The following vows are incidentally five in number and are taken by the students through participating in a homa.
What is homa
In the Hindu tradition of performing a sacrament, the presence of fire plays a central role. Be it a puja in a temple or at home, where a lighted lamp is waved before the deity or be it solemnizing the vows of marriage or sannyasa, the presence of fire is considered a must. Whatever be its esoteric significance, fire can easily be taken as a symbol of purity and knowledge. Just as knowledge destroys ignorance, fire consumes anything that comes in touch with it. Fire is also a great purifier (pavaka). A person can develop a bright intellect only if his mind is pure and clean. Fire brings to mind the power to ignite or inspire a human being. Hence, a fire ritual (homa, in Sanskrit) is symbolic of knowledge, purity and inspiration.
With folded hands (the Hindu custom of invocation and prayer), the student utters the following mantra:
`I take refuge (that is, agree to cultivate) austerity (tapas, or control of body, mind and speech), bright intellect, faith and respect, modesty, truthfulness, forbearance, sense of duty, steadiness in speech and mind, and physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Let these qualities grow in me; I invoke the blessings of all the three worlds (bhuh, bhuvah, svah) mentioned in the Vedas, and of the Supreme Spirit.'
With folded hands (the Hindu custom of invocation and prayer), the student utters the following mantra:
`I take refuge (that is, agree to cultivate) austerity (tapas, or control of body, mind and speech), bright intellect, faith and respect, modesty, truthfulness, forbearance, sense of duty, steadiness in speech and mind, and physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Let these qualities grow in me; I invoke the blessings of all the three worlds (bhuh, bhuvah, svah) mentioned in the Vedas, and of the Supreme Spirit.'
Every vrata (vow) that follows now has got two parts: pratijna (resolve) and pranama (salutations or prayer to the Divine by invoking His divine qualities). The students repeat both parts of every vrata, singly or collectively, and then offer a bilva leaf, symbolic of their resolve and sincerity to the fire before them.
The First Vow
(Vow for Physical Well-being)
The Second Vow
(Vow for Regular and Sincere Study)
The Third Vow
(Vow of Truthfulness)
The Fourth Vow
(Vow for Unselfishness and Compassion)
The Fifth Vow
(Vow for Enlightened Citizenship)
Pratijna (resolve):
`Well-managed, rightly focused and unified collective-power is the only way for social well-being. Therefore, "Be thou all of one mind, be thou all of one thought, be thou all one in your speech"—in view of this Vedic statement, which promotes unity and evokes the power of integration, I shall be honest, and being a member of this institution, strive for unity among all.'
Note: Unity is strength. But one should unite for a good purpose and not a bad one. Even people with evil intentions get united and exploit others. The power of collective action therefore should be properly harnessed for the good of the society.
Everyone owes something to the society. Our basic needs like food, water, clothing, shelter, medicine and transportation are provided by society. We do not produce them ourselves; others do it for us and we purchase them. But money has only an instrumental value. It can purchase, but not produce anything. Being true citizens of the country, therefore, we must contribute our share in the cycle of social good. We should be conscious about our duties as citizens. A student can learn the qualities of enlightened citizenship by such small acts like queuing up at the ticket counters, not littering public places, and avoiding general indiscipline.
An enlightened citizen is a citizen with an enlightened sense of doing good to others. He is a responsible member of the society and is willing to contribute to others' well-being.
Pranama (Salutations):
I bow down to the Supreme Being, whose manifestation is this world, who is by nature undivided, and the underlying principle of the universe. Svaha.
The fifth vow aims at inculcating social amity and responsibility.
The Final Pranama (Salutations):
May the Supreme Lord be helpful to me to keep these vows. Svaha.
May He be auspicious to me in all manner. Svaha.
Om! O the Creator of the Universe (Savita)! Cleanse me of all mistakes and sins, and endow me with all that is good for me. Svaha.
Note: Vows are like plants. They have to be nourished and protected by proper care and attention. We thus pray to the Supreme Spirit to give us strength and wisdom in order to keep these vows. We may slip once in a while, but we must never give up. Swami Vivekananda said, `Never mind these failures, these little backslidings; hold the ideal a thousand times; and if you fail a thousand times, make the attempt once more.'
The Final Offering
(Purna ahuti)
The invisible is the Infinite, the visible too is the Infinite. From the Infinite, the visible universe of infinite extension has come out. The Infinite remains the same, even though the infinite universe has come out of it.
Om! Peace! Peace! Peace!
Note: God is purna, the Fulfilled One. We invoke His blessings to fulfill our vows and make us live a fulfilled life. May peace reign everywhere.
This final offering signifies the formal closing of the ceremony.”
The general Muslims will shockingly find the origins of many words adopted by FUREC in the SSD & Memorandum, its bulletins, in the founding members professional background & in many of the Presidents speeches & addresses which simply represent, confirm & corroborate the false ‘kufriyyah’ contemporary ideology of ‘Unity of Religions’ & ‘Enlightened Citizenship’. Such terms may be traced back in the History of ideological/religious thoughts & movements as we shall demonstrate in future articles.
The Hindu Online Newspaper
The Hindu, online newspaper on Wednesday, June 16th 2004 reports the following:
[Note the terminology used by the President in light of the above Vows highlighting the concept & source of ‘Enlightened Citizenship’ which the President of India himself proudly speaks of]
Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004
National
Let's take vows to serve humanity, says President
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, JUNE 15. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today laid emphasis on the need for enlightened citizenship in which people undertook "service to humanity as service to God." He said this could happen when all devotees took a vow to educate students, plant trees and treat male and female children equally.
This way, the citizens could feel proud that they were involved in nation-building as the "small vows" they took would have a tremendous impact on society by setting in motion a process of change. He was speaking at the launch of the `Foundation for the Unity of Religions and Enlightened Citizenship' at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was attended by various religious leaders.
"Over 500,000 people of various religions visit major places of worship every day. Some vows may be displayed within the premises of these religious institutions prominently and devotees can take any of them as thanksgiving to God," he said.
Among the vows suggested by the President are: each devotee would pledge to educate five children or play a crucial role in activating one pond in his or her neighbourhood or nearby village; remove enmity within his family and withdraw court cases; plant five fruit-bearing trees; not succumb to the temptation of addictive substances and treat male and female children equally. "Even if 10 per cent of the devotees take up any one of these vows, I am sure there will be a tremendous impact on society," Mr. Kalam said.
Recalling his visits to several holy places across the country, he said: "Wherever I went, I found that knowingly or unknowingly, integration of religions has taken place. There is a fabric of connectivity among the people." A billion people with multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious backgrounds were staying in unity which was, in fact, the "core competence" of the country.
With the launch of the Foundation, the vision of the Surat Spiritual Declaration (SSD), signed nine months ago, had been translated into reality, he said. Translations of the SSD in 15 languages were presented to the President.
The SSD, signed by spiritual leaders of all religions in the presence of the President, had been the basis for a number of projects to create "enlightened citizens," said L.M. Singhvi, Chancellor of the Jain Vishwa Bharati Institute in Rajasthan and former Indian High Commissioner to Britain.
In a brief message, Jain spiritual leader Acharya Mahaprajna called for reflection on the link between religion and economics, which could lead to the nation's development. "Economics and religion seem contradictory, but I do not think so. They influence and solve each other's problems."
The point here is obvious, the terms & words adapted/used by FUREC’s principals have a religious bearing/origin which, evidently identifies FUREC as a religious organisation confirmed by the President of India in the excerpt taken from his speech as above:
“I seek the help of the religious leaders and to be the partners in the national development task leading to a developed India by 2020”