Columbus Day Celebration or Indigenous People’s Day Celebration in the Americas ?

Christopher Columbus: More of a mercenary than an explorer. His expeditions resulted in the massacre of millions of native American Indians, plunder of ancient civilizations, the loot of millions of tons of gold and mass-colonization of a huge territory having a population of millions. Destroyed mercilessly a civilization who had no ill will towards Europeans.

The United States of America Celebrates “Columbus Day” on the second Monday of every October to mark the epoch-making journey of Italian sailor Christopher Columbus, who had reached American shores on Oct 12, 1492. It made history as it was for the first time ever that a Christian sailor had reached the ‘new’ world. Along with the USA the rest of the countries of Americas also mark this day in some or other way.

The muslim rulers of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and Arabs had blocked the land route from India to Europe, making it impossible for the Europeans to directly import Indian spices, fine textiles, steel for swords, sugar and a host of other fineries. Search for an alternate route to India was absolutely inevitable if Europeans wanted to live a decent life. Major European sea-faring nations of that time, such as Spain and Portugal and the Pope, who was considered as Emperor of the emperors made heavy investment in funding the expeditions in search of a sea route to India.Christopher Columbus, (born. 1451- died. 1506) had set sail for ‘India’. Spanish king Ferdinand-II and queen Isabella-I had funded the voyage blessed by Pope Alexander-VI.

When Christopher Columbus returned to Spain from the voyage, assuming that he had succeeded in finding a sea-route to India was in for a rude shock. What he thought was India, wasn’t it and that a sea route to India was discovered by another sailor, his Portuguese rival, Vasco De Gama. 

Albeit, Columbus did not find a route to India but the historical significance of his voyage does not diminish because the Americas, the new land he discovered, too had proved to be a land of riches. Christopher Columbus was the hero for Europeans who subsequently followed in his footsteps and settled in the new territories, who could enjoy the wealth and bounty of the Americas.

Christopher Columbus became a legend. What is famously the ‘American dream’ could not have existed but for Christopher Columbus. Americans, especially the Italian Americans, began to celebrate Columbus day in their communities. However subsequently it became a pan-american festival, duly endorsed even by the USA who had become independent from British and French rule. 

Americans are marketing geniuses and true to their reputation, all the festivals they decide to celebrate become grand events to look forward to. Columbus Day is no exception, it becomes a great event where police bands on the streets flanked by motorcycle mounted policemen, flags and rest of the paraphernalia make it a celebration to remember and cherish. . 

However, all of the Americans do not view this day with the same lens. The European settlers who had escaped the poverty and hard living conditions of Europe were the beneficiaries of the bounty of America considered him a hero whereas the native Indians of America who had become the biggest losers did not appreciate Columbus. Native Indians had experienced first hand massacre, rape, diseases, destruction of their tribes and had faced ridicule of their way of life by the Europeans. For them Columbus was the biggest villain. These two starkly opposite points of views, have now given rise to two different ways of celebration on the very same day. Some call it “Columbus Day” while others call it “Indigenous People’s Day”.

During the heydays of Black Slavery and Colonial times, Americans celebrated the day as Columbus Day without any hesitation or any sense of guilt. However with waning colonialism and upsurge of freedoms the Columbus Day celebrations have begun losing its sheen and began experiencing some pushback from a new generation of Americans. The massacre, loot and cruel destruction of the natives by the Europeans did not sit well with their conscience. They felt that to celebrate Columbus was immoral and not tenable for a progressive society. Marginalised, barely visible, on the verge of extinction, the Native Indians joined in the push back and together with new generation Americans, they are now marking the celebration, not as Columbus Day but as “Indigenous People’s Day”.

Even post independence, the US Government had continued with colonial mindset and had opened residential schools for children of natives. Children were forcibly carried away, abducted and lodged there. These schools, mostly run with the assistance of Church were more like torture centers for molestation and every other kind of abuse. Thousands of children died there and were buried unceremoniously. In the Washington Post of May 29, 2024, they had published a story on the existence of Boarding Schools for natives. They reported that From 1819 to as recently as 1969, the U.S. government separated Native American children from their families to eradicate their cultures and seize tribal land decimating tribes through violence and spreading disease.

Those few natives who survived and those few whose conscience bit them want to recall their forefathers with reverence and their struggle against the colonisers when they celebrate The Indigenous People's Day. Almost every country on the American continent and on the Caribbean islands have now begun celebrating “The Indigenous People’s Day” in preference to or along with the “Columbus Day”.

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Lapu-Lapu, A Remarkable Filipino Festival - Recalls Roots and Traditions of Pre-Colonial Pristine Bygone Era

 Be it America or Asia, Europe, Australia or Africa, all the peoples of all the countries seem to be under the influence of an unfathomable spell that mysteriously pulls them towards their roots, towards their forefathers and their past traditions. Apparently, even unknowingly, this magnet is working its way. It is subtle, self-manifesting, unnoticeable yet compelling. They, so it seems, want to resurrect and reclaim the past that was viciously destroyed and buried deep and indeed, the effort has started, faintly though, to show up. The Lapu-Lapu festival of Filipinos is one such example.

World was shocked on 26th of April, 2025 with a news flash from Vancouver, BC. It was:

Presumably it was an unfortunate accident. The driver was said to be a mentally unstable person. The tragedy has nothing to do with the history of Lapu-Lapu, however it did bring into limelight the Filipino festival of Lapu-Lapu and what it meant for the ordinary folks. The festival keeps alive the pre-colonization society in the consciousness of the present day Filipinos.

Lapu-Lapu, seems almost an unthinkable festival for a country that is deeply Catholic Christian. This is mainly because, the person, LapuLapu, who is celebrated, was a person who resisted catholicism and successfully prevented its introduction into the Philippines for many decades.

The festival of Lapu-Lapu is celebrated everywhere in the world where the Filipinos have made their home but its main festivities take place in the city of Lapu-Lapu of Mactan Island, where the famous “Battle of Mactan” took place and where the celebrated sailor Ferdinand Magellan was killed on 27th April 1521. Young LapuLapu was an iconic community leader, lovingly and respectfully known as Datu (Chief) LapuLapu of Mactan island of the present day Philippines. He was born in 1490 and died at the age of 51, in 1541.

The Philippines is an archipelago made up of nearly 8000 small and big islands. Near the island of Mactan lies Cebu island, which is much bigger than Mactan. During the 16th century, Cebu island was ruled by a King, Rajah Humabon. He is credited to be the first Catholic Christian King of the Philippines. He was baptised in 1521 by a priest of the Spanish Expedition led by the celebrated Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan. Upon baptization, he adopted a new name, Carlos Valderrama. Some of his family and subjects too were baptised to catholicism. 

The islanders of Cebu have built a grand statue and memorial of Rajah Humabon who they considered to be a brave and wise king. And the islanders of Mactan have built a grand statue of their legendary warrior LapuLapu.

LapuLapu did not like the idea of his community being baptised under the force of new convert Rajah and his new accomplice, the Spanish armada. He resisted all the attempts at colonisation, subjugation and religious conversion. In a fiercely fought battle LapuLapu killed the captain of the armada, the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan. LapuLapu thwarted the Spanish and forced them to retreat. Perhaps, the defeat and unceremonious retreat of Spaniards and death of Ferdinand Magellan made Rajah Humabon reconsider continuing with friendly overtures towards fleeing Spaniards; he quickly renounced Catholicism, just within a few weeks after baptization, and returned to his own faith. The battered Spanish who had lost many soldiers and suffered the loss of some ships in the battle had to flee from the Philippines. They did not return till after five decades when they ultimately colonised the Philippines in 1565, converted the population to catholicism with vengeance and obliterated almost every sign of pre-existing culture. Spanish rule lasted for three long centuries till they were expelled by Americans in 1898. The Philippines then ended up as a United States Territory till they were ultimately granted full independence. While the Spanish were primarily focussed on economic exploitation and religious expansion, the Americans interests lie in the 

economic exploitation as well as strategic location of the islands. People of the Philippines fought and struggled for independence from America for many decades, to be ultimately granted full freedom on 4th July 1946. Interestingly, however, for the Philippines, their official independence day is not the 4th of July when Americans left but the 12th of June 1898, when they were freed from Spanish rule by the Americans. Clearly, Filipinos considered the Spanish as their real tormentors.  

The way Rajah Humabon, son of Rajah Sri Bantung, easily accepted Catholicism appears to be only a ploy to make friends with members of Spanish expedition. From whatever is known about the customs and beliefs of pre-colonized Filipinos, it can be assumed that Rajah was a pagan following some form of Indian religion. The presence of Sanskrit words like ‘Rajah’ and ‘Sri’ and a discovery of Laguna Copper-plate with inscriptions in the then prevalent Indian Pallava script supports this assumption. Perhaps it is the Indian influence that many words of Tagalog (language of Philippines) are uncannily the same or similar as what is used in Indian languages. 

As typical with most Spanish conquests, the traces of any older civilization in the colonies are usually completely and totally obliterated. That may be the reason why so little information is available today from the bygone era of the Philippines. However a chance discovery of a 2 kg, 21 Karat golden statue known as “Agusan Tara” reassures the Filipino community that their culture was rich and they were a civilized society at least older than 600 years before the first arrival of Europeans to their country. 

The fact that a deeply catholic society as Filipinos celebrates life and deeds of Lapu-Lapu, a warrior against catholicism speaks volumes of that mysterious and unfathomable human urge to have a relook and reconsider the heritage of one's forefathers. Knowingly or unknowingly it seems people gravitate towards exploring their past and even want to repossess what was stolen from their ancestors. This phenomena is in evidence also among first nations of Canada, among the pagans of Europe and Aboriginals of Australia. 

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Jadi Rana - A Kind Hindu King With Foresight

Holiest Fire Temple Temple of Parsis in India at Udvada, Gujarat.  (Photograph by Nilesh Shukla, Year 2025.)

Jadi Rana was a Hindu king of Sanjan in Gujarat. The Parsi Refugees had found safe asylum under him when they were forced to flee from their homeland, Persia (Iran) to save their life and religion from Islamic rulers in the 7th Century CE i.e. approximately 1300 years ago.

Most of us are aware of the famous milk and sugar story of Parsi refugees. True to that story, the Parsis have merged with the host society just as sugar dissolves in a cup full of milk. While their homogenous merging with host society and their successes are well  acknowledged, not many in India are aware that it was the Hindu King, Jadi Rana who had allowed the distressed and ensured their safe refuge in India. Perhaps, because it happened more than a thousand years ago and the fact that Indians are poor at history-writing and even poorer at self-praise, pretty little is known today about the king. 

However, some worthwhile information on the King is available from Parsi chronicles. The king’s knowledge of the factors that go to a successful merging of foreigners into local communities while still allowing everyone a full freedom to practice their own religion is a lesson to learn in itself. 

Parsis adopted Gujarati Language and Gujarati dress and yet maintained their unique identity complete with their religion, temples and traditions. They created successful business empires, established charities and have earned love and respect from the host society. This phenomenon of stress-free amalgamation is one of the rarest among rare phenomena in the history of the world.

When they had lost all hopes of survival under the islamic rule, a leading priest of the surviving Zoroastrians had a vision of God telling him to take the holy fire and the faithful with him to India and seek refuge there. They took a boat in the year 630 CE or thereabout and set sail for India braving unexpected sea storms on their way. When their storm-battered boat at last reached the shore of India at Port Sanjan in Gujarat, the leader of the refugees, who was a devout and knowledgeable priest, goes to meet the king Jadi Rana. The conversation between the priest and the king is described in a poetic fashion in what has become famous as “The Sixteen Sanskrit Slokas of Aka Adhyaru” and the legendary set of promises, known as “The Five Promises”. Apparently, the refugees actually did not use Sanskrit language but had used Pahlavi language (language of Iran at that time), however, the Pahlavi sloka were translated into Sanskrit by one, Neryosang Dhaval. The first fifteen verses are appeals of the leader of the refugees and the last one is by the King who accords permission for asylum, gives land and grants permission to build their temple where holy fire was installed. The “Five Promises” are the promises made by refugees to the king. (The holy fire, known as “Iran Shah” was first installed in the fire temple in Sanjan town as a temporary stop-gap arrangement and was subsequently permanently moved by the community to the nearby town of Udvada in a well-built new fire temple pictured here)

In a typical Indian tradition of oral history, this ancient conversation was passed on over generations. It was at last scripted into a document as late as in the year 1599 CE by a Parsi priest, Dorab Sanjana, under the title “Qissa-e-Sanjan”. The conversation brings out two interesting observations. Firstly, the king Jadi Rana was kind, knowledgeable and had foresight of a good ruler. Secondly, the leader of the refugees was knowledgeable, wise and a honourable man of God.

The King asked refugees to follow a few conditions to help make their life in India more stable, peaceful and conflict free. 1- Adopt local (Gujarati) dress and language (For easy amalgamation in the society) 2- Keep religious ceremonies like marriage etc after sunset (so as not to conflict with Hindu ceremonies that normally take place before sunset) 3) Do not bear Arms (So as not appear like a threat to locals) 4- Earn your own bread (by likes of farming) and take care of yourself (also known as ‘fend for yourself’) 5- Do not proselyte (Extension of point at 2: Do not lure locals into your faith by taking locals into Parsi Temples). 

Every generation of Parsis since the pioneering first wave of Parsis have remained truely honourable and have followed these conditions to the last comma and full stop. This is a major reason for the mutual goodwill, peaceful co-existence, trust and growth in a predominantly Hindu India despite their retention of religion and distinctive identity. This is a valuable and rare achievement from every standard. Some recent Parsi community leaders have expressed their own slightly differing views on those five promises, but that is understandable as each can have their own interpretation of any old text. Notwithstanding any alternative views, the Parsi community have remained steadfast exactly to the above promises, thus giving credence to the generally accepted version of “Five Promises”.

That the king Jadi Rana asked for a code of conduct from the incoming strangers by way of the five easy to follow promises, is a testimony to the wisdom and foresight, every ruler should possess in order to rule fairly and maintain peace, stability and harmony in the society they govern. Indeed, it takes two to tango, kudos also to the Parsi community. Instead of drowning in despair and complaining of victimhood, the community overcame all disadvantages and turned themselves into a successful and prosperous community. The operative formula that worked seems to be kindness with foresight of the host and  the honouring of the promises by the guests. 

King Jadi Rana and the Parsi community both deserve compliments and should be celebrated.

Udvada Town And The Holiest Parsi Fire temple of India

 

Parsis’ Holiest Fire Temple in India at Udvada	Udvada Town Entrance	Udvada Railway Station	Jadi Rana High School, Sanjan. (Picture of School-courtesy wikimapia.org)

Holiest Parsi Fire temple of India is situated in a small town of Udvada, about 185 km north of Mumbai. The last leg of my trip to India, in January 2025, took me to this small town of Gujarat on the coast of Arabian Sea. The Parsis are a tiny community in India. They are followers of an ancient faith, known as Zoroastrianism. Parsis are progressive and are generally loved and admired by Indians.

In their long history of more than a thousand years in India, the Parsi community has kept alive their distinct identity and yet have seamlessly merged with mainstream society. So much so that, never ever was any instance of quarrel between Parsi community and any other community.

Parsi are known in India for their jovial, friendly and helpful nature. They have built many successful business enterprises. Tata, Godrej, Wadia, Shapoorji, etc are some of the well known groups of Parsee owned businesses. They have also built many philanthropic organizations to undertake welfare of the society.

Some of the several Indian and International Businesses and Brands owned by Parsi Businessmen

 The holiest Parsi fire temple in Udvada is a beautiful looking building with traditional Zoroastrian imagery and architecture. The town also has a well maintained Museum showing Zoroastrian heritage and traditions. Interestingly I found small cards hung on the branches of the trees in the compound of the museum. At first glance, the hanging white cards looked like some decoration or perhaps a tiny equivalent of the Buddhist prayer banners that one finds around Buddhist shrines. However this was different. Each card had one of the following three quotes. “Good Thoughts”, “Good Words” and “Good Deeds” in English language on one side and its Avestan language equivalent (In English Script) on the other side “Humata”, “Hukhta” and “Hvarshta”.  A visitor to the museum can pluck card/s from there and retain them as souvenirs. The Zoroastrian religious books were written in the ancient Avestan language, an offshoot of Sanskrit, and are said to be built around those easy to remember, three tenets. Humata, Hukhta and Hvarshta. Tree-hanging cards, I thought, was a very good idea and a very apt souvenir. (Fun Fact: Sanskrit “S” becomes “H” in Avesta and with some distortions over a period of time and distance, it made, Sindhu-सिन्धु to Hindu, Sumati-सुमति (Good thoughts) to Humata, Sukti-सुक्ति (Good words) to Huktha and Srushti-सृष्टि (Good deed that creates good society/world) to Hvarashta).

Udvada is a typical small town of Gujarat. Most of its original Parsi inhabitants have moved to larger cities, however they maintain lively contact with their holiest shrine. Most Parsis, wherever they may be in the world, do not fail to make a pilgrimage to the Udvada Fire Temple. Indeed there does exist a sizable Parsi community in the town and serve the community by providing religious services at the Holy Fire Temple, providing lodging and boarding to the Parsi pilgrims. In their language, Parsis call the Fire Temple “Atash Behram”. As the fire at Udvada was originally brought from the original Fire Temple in Iran, the Udvada Fire Temple is also known as “Iranshah Atash Behram” (“Atash” is “Fire” in Iranian Farsi language, “Behram” has meanings like winning, victorious, etc )

In the Parsi chronicles, they have recorded their stories of flight from Persia (Iran), voyage to Sanjan and interactions with the hosts. In a remarkable poem, “Qissa-e-Sanjan”, famously known as “Sixteen Shloka”, the leader of the refugees narrates his conversation with the King, Jadi Rana. It encapsulates their discussion in Sanskrit language. The first fifteen shlokas cover submission of the visitor and the sixteenth shloka is the reply of the King, granting them asylum.

King Jadi Rana was certainly a remarkable ruler. He had that foresight, often missing in other rulers. He knew what bonds two communities without compelling them to change their religion and yet to let both communities flourish and freely keep their independent identities. He was unique. Modern day rulers can learn something from him. I was therefore curious to find if the town of Udvada had maintained any relics, edicts or memorials to commemorate King Jadi Rana, or had built any monument or memorial for the wise King. Strangely, I could not find it. May be it was not so prominent and I missed it.

"Pola" is a Unique festival of Farmers of Maharashtra. It celebrates Farm Animals. મહારાષ્ટ્રમાંઉજવાતો પશુ-પ્રેમને દર્શાવતો, અતી વિશિષ્ટ ઉત્સવ - “પોળા” (बैल-पोळा)

Just a few days back on the last New-Moon-Day, we celebrated "Pola". The festival is celebrated on the day of Amavasya of the month of Shravan/BhadraPada* in the Maharashtra State in India. We thank and show our gratitude and love for the farm animals represented by the Oxen who ploughs the fields and pulls the bullock-Carts. This festival is known as "Bail-Pola" (बैल-पोळा) or simply "Pola" or "पोळा", alluding to the feast dish being served to the Farm-Bullock. 

The Chapter 9 of a Gujarati "Umodi" ("ઊમોદી"), contains an interesting description of how this festival was actually celebrated since ancient times. It is an excerpt from the diary of Urmila, who had witnessed many Polas in her lifetime in the early twentieth century i.e. around 1940s in the area around Nagpur city, a city of India in a province then known as the "Central Province"**. Following is translated from her amateur narrative.

Excerpt:

Quote from the Diary....."Pola Utsav is a special festival celebrated by all but mainly by Farmers of the village. It is celebrated on the new-moon-day of the month of Shravan/Bhadra Pada This day is dedicated to the farm animals like oxen. To celebrate, the bulls are decorated and worshipped with red kumkum tilak, and garlands of freshly picked flowers. Their Horns are painted in bold colours. Some paint only the tip of the horn but more often than not, the entire horn is painted. The back of the Bullock is adorned with multi-colour thick-cotton rug. Their necks are covered with beautiful necklaces made from colourful beads and tiny tinkling bells.............On the day of "Pola", no farmer would yoke or shackle their oxen. It is like Bulls' "Double-Pay-Official-Fun-Holiday". In addition to no-work, Bullock is fed a special celebratory dish, namely "Puran-Poli". Most herbivorous animals such as Cows, Horses, Mules etc, are known to relish lentils and jaggery. Therefore huge sized Roties or "Polas"*** are prepared on this day and these Polas are filled with cooked stuffing made from split lentils in Ghee and Jaggery......... 

... This prized dish is lovingly served to the bulls working hard throughout the year, rain or shine. These farm bulls are farmer's reliable and constant companions. It is not unusual even to hear the farmer lovingly talking and singing to the bull while they are working with them on the farm as if they are talking to a friend. They have a special bond. Even the poorest farmer too gives these treats to Bulls on this day.''...   

.................On the morning of this day, the festivities begin with bringing the Bullock and their carts in a huge open field on the outskirts of the village. Village Headman (Patel) and other big and small chiefs too are present on the field. They sit on the chairs, whereas others are busy in their activities while onlookers either stand or squat and await the unfolding of events, usually a Bullock-Cart Race, or just a bullock Race. Children, curious and full of awe and excitement look at the arrangements and decoration of the make-shift decorated shelter and the decorated bullock carts with farmers in their newly stitched dresses and Safas (head dress).......

......The Bullock-Carts are lined up and on the cue from the Headman, the race begins. The crowd that was simply chatting or singing or playing some music, suddenly gets into a frenzy with cheering, clapping, shouting and running with the carts. The children too join their friends and dads into the same frenzy and the whole atmosphere is filled with joy, excitement and of course a lot of dust from the stomping feet of bulls and people on the field. If it is a rainy day, the shower and liberal spray of mud  can also add to the fun. No one minds shouting, cheering, dust or mud. People just enjoy the fun and games, have some sweets, feed the Bullock and go home cheerful with a well spent day. .....

Nowadays, such races have more or less disappeared and can only be seen in movies......However, these days, in some films, I see that the farmers taking part in such cart races are shown to be dishonest and cheating. But those farmers, I have seen, were honest, loving and as innocent as a small child.......

......After returning home for lunch and some rest, Bulls are taken to meet and greet. They are led to neighbouring farmers' homes, to relatives and friends. At every home the bulls are again given the treats of "Puran-Poli". The occasion is as gracefully celebrated as what we do on Diwali day when we, with our family, visit our friends, relatives and elders. So do these farmers; they take bulls, as their own family members and go to greet the friends, family and elders on "Pola" day....

.....On the next day, it is the turn of Children to celebrate their own "Small-Pola" or "लहान पोळा" also called "तान्हा-पोळा". This day is for little boys. With joy and passion, farmer dads play "Pola" with their children. Before the festival, either they make a bull from wood or mud and place it on wheels. This toy bull is for real as far as the boys go. Is up to about a foot or two in height and can be towed by hand using a rope tied to the toy. Some farmers buy it from the market if unable to make it at home. The toy is fully decorated as if it is a real bull. Children pull the bull and bring them out on a playground for Bull-Race.....It is a great fun to watch these children excitedly pulling the bull. At the cue of their local elder, children would start running with a hand holding the rope pulling the bull behind them, some do it fast, some slow, some stall some toys fall flat, some being dragged, some broken on the way, with ongoing cheering shouting and screaming, even by the onlookers, the race comes to end. Some contestants win and some lose and after a joyful chaos, everyone goes home cheerfully.......Either before or after the toy-bull race, they take their toy-bull, just as what their dads did on the previous day with real bull, to the homes of their friends and neighbours. At every home, the host would treat children with sweets, toffees and other goodies......Thus the children too would have fun and inadvertently begin the journey of love and gratefulness for the farm animals. These are quintessential Hindu way of life that see divinity everywhere........" End of  Quote

Trivia:

1-*Amavasya of Shravan month in Vikram Samvant is the same day as BhadraPada month of Saka Samvant and is same as 2nd September of Gregorian Calendar this 2024. Indeed while the Gregorian date of the Pola festival may vary with the year, the Indian Dates do not change.

2-**After 1947 Indian independence, the states in India were reorganised for better administration on the basis of language. Thereby the province of Central India was subsumed into three newly reorganized states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

3-***Pola is masculine for Poli-Typical celebratory dish for humans is called "Puran-Poli" (feminine gender) and consider what you need for a huge bull ten times as heavy as a human? - Not a dainty "Poli" the big "Pola" i.e. "Puran-Pola" a masculine gender word!!

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गणानां त्वा गणपतिं हवामहे (Rigveda 2-23-1) Ancient Hymn Sung by a Mongolian Girl

 A remarkable young woman was melodiously singing an obscure hymn of ancient origin. Had she been an older person or someone of Indian origin, or if it was any other more popular mantra it would not have been that startling. But she appeared very young, probably in early twenties and unmistakably of non-Indian stalk. 

Although it was little past the sunrise, clouds had successfully prevented the sun's attempts to appear in the eastern sky. On that cold snowy morning of March in Vancouver BC, a small milieu of various ethnicities had congregated in a small hall. Neither the convergence of disparate ethnicities nor singing of Hindu hymns is unusual when it comes to Yoga or Meditation gatherings. Therefore, in such a setting even if someone bearing a typical non-Indian-appearing-face is seen singing a Hindu hymn, it does not surprise people anymore. However, this time around, it was out of the ordinary; the hymn happened to be from an antiquity of more than 5 millenia. 

Later, when introduced, I came to understand her name was Sue and that she originally came from Mongolia, now settled here in Vancouver BC, Canada. Parents had brought her up in their native Buddhist traditions and that Hinduism fascinated her from an early age. What she sang was the first Shloka (Verse) of Sukta (Chapter)-23 from the 2nd Mandala (Book) of Rig Veda; RV 2-23-1. It is addressed to a deity Brahmanaspati, aka Brihaspati aka “Father of Gods” (Ref: RV 2-26-3).

Notwithstanding its obscurity and archaism, the verse is extremely revealing at many levels; its content, both said and unsaid, activism behind the invocation, petitioner’s mindset, characteristic of request and objectives sought by those motley activists youngsters who have gathered perhaps on a seashore or a clearing in a forest, 3000 BCE or even in a still older era, seeking help and blessings of Lord Brahamanaspati. 

The verse is a petition. They are making a passionate plea: 

Sanskrit: “गणानां त्वा  गणपतिं  हवामहे कविं कवीनामुपमश्रवस्तमम् । ज्येष्ठराजं ब्रह्मणां ब्रह्मणस्पत आ न:

शृण्वन्नूतिभि: सीद सादनम् ॥” ( Transliterated in English: Gaṇaanam tvaa ganapatim havamahe Kavim kavinaam upamasravastamam, Jyestharaajam brahmanam brahmana spata aa nah srunvannutibhih sida saadanam.) RV-2-23-1

Its simple translation without contextual tweaking would read: “We invoke the Brahmanaspati, chief leader of the leaders; a sage of sages abound in beyond measure in every kind of food; best lord of prayer, hearing our invocations, please come with your protections, and sit down in the place of sacrifice.”

But its interpretation with contextual input would be an essay in itself: 

The petition ceremony is likely to be set around a fire-pit (yagna-kunda or homa-kunda) where a group of learned, eager looking activists have gathered around leaping flames to make a fervent appeal, a passionate request, imploring Lord Brahamanaspati to assist them in their mission, just before embarking upon a pursuit of non-combative, non-coveting efforts for upliftment of scattered groups of humans living in isolated existence in far-flung areas of deep forests, valleys and islands.

O, Supremely Knowledgeable (supremely knowledgeable among the knowledgeables),

O, Greatest leader (leader of the great leaders),

O, Greatest Philosopher (Philosopher of the Philosophers),

O, the one who is worthy of being described with similes and metaphors of adulation, (Unsaid content: who is  worthy of considered exemplary to be a role model who inspires us to inculcate qualities He possesses.)   

O, Ideal (Very Best) King of the Kings,

We all gathered here are making a fervent appeal to you,

Along with all power of defence at your command, (Unsaid content: ‘the tiny group of exploiters, dictators, capitalists, communists etc power-mongers are ultimately humans and has a potential within them for becoming reformed, hence the prayer does not seek their destruction or elimination but just seeks merely defence from them.),

knowing our thoughts, intention and mind (Unsaid content: “we are not seeking anything for us, no wealth, power or territory), 

Please establish yourself in our hearts. (Be our friend, Philosopher, Guide and Protector) 

Thanks to these unsung heroes of the distant past that ancient Indian civilizational footprint is visible all around the globe. Largely owing to this non-domineering, respectful civilizing efforts of those activists who left towns, ashrams, gurukuls and shores of India to distant and unknown territories, infested with wild animals, poisonous plants, shrubs and ivies, extreme climates, deserts, marshes, hunting cannibals and every kind of mortal danger lurking around. With no guarantee of returning to see their loved ones left behind in India, they kept on the mission of lifelong pursuit single mindedly. Not to claim territories, not to seek fortune, not to proselyte  but to learn, teach and inspire strangers to lead a vitreous life.  

They had to guard not only against the dangers, but also to not fall to any enticements on the way. In one of the speeches delivered by well known ancient rishi (seer), Kaundilya, has forewarned similar aspirants: “you are brilliant and energetic young people, you may easily find precious treasures in those distant lands, Humbled with your knowledge and abilities they may willingly and gratefully become ready to share their gold, precious stones, other treasures and even beautiful women. But remain alert not to succumb and not to be diverted from the important life-long mission of making the whole mankind noble- “Krunvantu Vishwam Aryam”, that they have undertaken. This speech was delivered to a group of volunteering activists who had gathered presumably on a sea shore to board a ship to Southeast Asia, perhaps, Bali. The very names Jawa, Sumatra, Malaya, Bali, Singapore  Brahmdesh (Burma), Siam, Mekong, etc unmistakably bear Sanskrit fingerprint.

Contrast the Sanskritization (Making of a nobler mankind) efforts made by Indians to the other historical campaigns undertaken by other groups who also were set forth on a ‘civilising’ mission with a book in one hand and sword or gun in the other.

An ambassador of the Republic of China (China of Pre-communist revolution era) to the U.S. (1938-1942), Mr. Hu Shih famously said  "India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border." A British Historian D G E Halls, Professor of History in the University of London summed up in his 1955 book, “The History of SouthEast Asia'' that the deep impression of Indian culture in  Southeast Asia was without any trace of signs of war, aggression, trade or any other generally known method but seems to be due to the willing acceptance by its people who had witnessed Indian ways of life via intellectuals visiting their country and returning students who had graduated from Indian universities of Nalanda, Takshashila etc. These assertions from leading scholars seem to reiterate and vindicate the aim, objective and SOP of those unsung, self-effacing activist heroes who had prayed to Lord Brahamanaspati. Sitting around Agni-Kund and performing Homa (Yagna) around the flames. Etymology of the word Yagna indicates that its root root syllabuses signify 3 attributes- 1 befriending, 2 uniting and 3 God worshipping. 

Sanskrit Grammarian Panini of 6th Century BCE is credited with recodifying Sanskrit Grammar. Language reformed in 6th Century BCE is the standard Sanskrit that we learn today. However, the Rig Veda text is written in pre-Panini ancient Sanskrit language. That makes it slightly more difficult to interpret even by current Sanskrit Scholars. The Rig Veda consists of 10 Mandals (Books), every book has several chapters (Sukta), more than 1,000 if put together. And every chapter has several Shlokas (Verses), more than 10,000 collectively.    

 

Some people mistakenly assume that the hymn is addressed to a well known deity Lord Ganapati because a word in the hymn happens to be “Ganapati”,  not realizing that the word is used not as a proper noun but is meant to be signifying the roleplay of the deity as a leader of states. (“Gana” means a group or a state. And “Ganapati” signifies a Leader or a President of the republic. “Gana-Tantra” is a word commonly used even today as a type of Nation that is made up of an association of States or a Republic. For instance, India is popularly defined as a “Gana-Tantra” in the local languages). 

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