Author: Mukul Saran

Can Hindus Ever RIP?

Posted on by Mukul Saran

With each passing away of an Indian celebrity, the social media gets flooded with shorthand RIP messages. What does one make of these – just short-hand expressions of condolence or a prayer for the departed soul?  Can Hindus ever RIP? Let’s decode what a RIP prayer would mean for a dead Hindu.

RIP is a Christian term first found on tombstones in the 18th century. It reflects the belief that the soul and the body are separated at death and must ‘rest’ until resurrection when they will be reunited and be with the Lord in Heaven. Only Christian faithful will have peace. Others will be eternally damned in Hell. So, can Hindus ever RIP?

The closest Hindu conception of ‘rest’ in the afterlife is when the ‘Jeevatma’, upon leaving the dead body, may enjoy Heaven as a reward for its good karma on earth. It must resume the cycle of rebirth and suffering upon completion of its term. But heaven is not what the jeevatma needs. It’s ultimate destination is Moksha, a liberation from the cycle of reincarnations and attainment of unending bliss.

Wishing RIP to a Hindu is like wishing the Chandrayaan mission success in reaching the earth’s orbit, rather than in landing successfully on the moon!

Words are tied to ideas, values and beliefs, e.g. words like ‘Chairman’ have fallen out of favor as they tend to associate only men with positions of authority, subconsciously.  The city of Trivendrum is better referred to by its original name Tiruvananthpuram, which means the ‘town of Lord Anantha’, rather than the meaningless one coined by the British.

Foreign words, like RIP, reinforce foreign concepts. They dissociate the vocabulary from our native values, ideas and beliefs. Without continuous nourishment, these cultural traits wither and die. It is essential, therefore, that Hindus use the traditional terminology to help sustain our paradigm of life. It is at the root of our culture and traditions.

Only then will our future generations know what it means to say ‘Om Shanti’.

Om symbolizes the formless infinite from which all creation arises and dissolves into. Shanti refers not just to peace, but to Bliss that is an unchanging characteristic of the infinite soul. Om Shanti is a prayer that the jeevatma gets off the cycles of reincarnation, realizing its own True nature – an inseparable part of the infinite whole Paramatma – conscious, eternal and blissful.

The Onion Profile

Posted on by Mukul Saran

 

My friends are really confused! I mean the facebook friends.  For years they have seen my face in various shades on the facebook profile. They don’t quite know what to make of an onion that has sprouted a few strands of the green blades as my profile picture. This is also kind of unlike my personality – linear, direct and simple. If the profile picture must represent me, it should simply show my face. The expression in the picture would convey a sense of my personality and create whatever impression it does on a viewer – a serious, contemplative person in nerdy black glasses or a fun guy dressed up as a ‘mafia boss’.

 

But what on earth does an onion, nesting among oranges and bananas, perched on a

decorative fruit-plate above a counter top mean? That has been confusing my friends.

And I know.  Since my profile-name also no longer spells out my actual name, for an average user it is rather difficult to identify me. Often, I have been ignored for this reason.

The story of this profile begins with the discovery of an onion lost in a dark corner of a kitchen cabinet for an unknown number of weeks.

How could it stay alive, sprouting new life without soil, water, or sunlight after weeks of neglect?  A novelty for me for sure! The beauty of this unattended, natural growth had to be displayed! What better place than a counter-top, where this resilient creation could be seen and admired.

It soon became salad. How could one resist the urge to taste the fresh onion greens?  Where the green shoots were clipped and taken away, new ones developed and grew back rapidly as if urging us to take more!

When the darkness envelopes our lives, when the loved ones neglect us, when we face a paucity of life’s essentials we humans can still thrive, much like this onion. There is something inspirational in this growth. It is natural, it is resilient and it is beautiful. It deserves to be seen and emulated by one and all.

For the onion it comes naturally. Humans must strive to develop it – a generosity that is willing to give away all our material growth. And then be happy to give away some more.