WHAT CAN MODERN EDUCATION, LEARN FROM VEDIC EDUCATION SYSTEM?

No one can be called educated who cannot preserve and expand his/her cultural heritage. In this article I try to explain how Vedic style of education can be incorporated into modern education system, in a way, that benefits both the student and the teacher, which in turn benefits India.

What is education?

Culture is the sum total of the accumulated experience and achievements of previous generations inherited by succeeding generations as member of society. And, the structured process of passing on this collective experiences and achievements may be called education. The function of schools is not only to make students knowledgeable, but also to make them cultured, because education develops student’s ideal nature by giving them a moral feeling and enables them to control their original animal nature. So, the ultimate aim of education should not only be to full fill the desire of life, but to also make the student fit to become a useful member of society.   

Falling morals in today’s students

We are living in an age of rapidly scientific and technological changes, which nonetheless have many positive effects on different social groups and across different societies. Much has changed, but one thing that has not changed is imparting knowledge through learning, which is a never ending process. The sad part in all of this is that, modern students are not morally perfect and behave irresponsibly. The reason for this may be that, students are affected directly or indirectly by the social evils such as: idleness, egotism, poverty, sexual disability, materialistic appeals, evil practices, corruption, decline in moral values and destructive politics. This is where Vedic style of education can help, as it has tendency to change the minds and character of the students.  

Gurukuls

In ancient India, the gurukuls; where students resided at guru’s place, were dedicated to achieve the highest ideas to complete student’s development that included physical, mental, spiritual development as well as God realization. The gurukuls were situated at beautiful natural places which were near some rural or urban area to fulfill the daily necessary requirements of the students. This system was free from any sort of consideration of rich and poor, caste and creed, higher or lower etc. Even the children of both rulers and peasants stayed together, and state politics do not interfered in this education system. The students used to seek alms everyday form different houses. They shared their alms with their teacher, and that is how a gurukuls was managed. The society had a lot of reverence to students who were seeking alms for their education.  

Teacher

The pivot of the whole education system of ancient India was teacher. He is also called as acharya, guru and upadhyana on the basis of the function he performed. Acharya is one who performs the upanayana; which marks the acceptance of a student by a teacher. A guru is one who perform the samskaras; mental impression, recollection in Indian Philosophy and Indian religion. And, upadhyana is who teaches a student a portion of the Vedas. The education was mainly through ears and lips and not through writing and reading. This was because writing was considered as inferior, and education through ears and lips had the power to develop cognition, intelligence and strong memory. The subjects that were taught were: religion, ayurveda, vaishaishika, economics, archery, justice, reasoning among others. There was the provision of free education, but after the completion of education money, land, animals, grains etc was given as daksina; it is not a fee, but sort of donation. They treated the student with care, respect, trust and duty. Punishment was given, but was not harsh.      

Student

A prospective student had to convince the teacher that, the student, had the required intelligence, desire, determination and qualities to pursue the studies. The age to begin education was usually eight to twelve, and the time period for studying was twelve years and a student could study only one Veda in that period. The classes were held in the shade of trees and under some shelter during monsoon to ensure that the students are in touch with nature which benefited their physical and mental development. There were certain rules for the students to adhere regarding their daily lives such as: to lead a simple life, wake up early before the day breaks, get freshened up and take bath, and then worship God, and perform havan etc. The students could eat food twice a day. They were asked to follow the rules of self control and discipline. The students have great respect for their teachers and treated them as their parents and King.

Where have we lost it?

Long before the British rule gurukuls were the preferred from of education, even in the time of Mughal rule; 1556-1707  its peak years, to the later years when Mughal power dwindled till the eventual arrival of British rule, gurukul system existed and flourished. During the colonial times, the British imported their centralized system of industrial era education while systematically de-emphasized the importance and usage of Vedic education system. The modern education system is India is established by British, introduced by Lord Thomas Macaulay in 1830 and later by Wood’s Magna Carta of Indian education in 1854. Teaching was confined to the class rooms, connection with nature was broken and the close relationship between student and teacher was also lost. It was left to Dayananda Saraswati; the founder of Arya Samaj and Swami Shraddanand, to pioneer the modern gurukul system, they founded Dayananda Anglo-Vedic Public School and Universities in 1886 A.D. Then in 1948 Shastriji Maharaj Dharanjivan Das Swami initiated the first Swaminarayan Gurukul in Rajkot, Gujarat. But sadly, instead of following its own roots the modern education system of independent India carried on the track of Western style of Education, which is based on text books and examination. The teacher lost their right to decide what to teach and how to teach. This type of educational practice eventually narrows the area of knowledge, because to pass exams students just needed to memorize the contents, without understanding it properly.    

Need of the hour

In present times where the news of school shootings, drug addictions, overexposure to sex, smoking, alcoholism, incidents of rape, committing suicide at a very young age and showing disrespect toward elders and others are common. Incorporating Vedic education; which is the core of India’s culture and rich heritage, in the modern education system will help the student to achieve the following benefits: ideal of perfect mastery over senses, to erect the ideal of truth, liberty, equality, peace and unity. This will intern help in bringing back the true essence of guru-shishya tradition in the modern education system, because the ultimate aim of Vedic system of education is the development of personality and character of the student. And correct the prevailing wrong precedent, which is, ‘education in India is linked sorely to employment.’   

SINGLEHOOD - A FUTURE FOR MEN!

Does getting married make a man happier, healthier, and more integrated into society? Let’s look at the relevant question bothering the ‘modern man.’

Motivation of men

Men are motivated by 3Fs: freedom, fame and fortune, and men who prefer to stay single are ruled by the first of these three Fs; freedom. It doesn’t in any way mean that for single men the other two, fame and fortune, are not important. Actually, they are very important, but the only difference is that single men lean mostly towards ‘self’ freedom. A single man would rather stay single than have a woman strap him down, because he loves his freedom and his independence more than any other thing. One thing which is vital for society to understand is that for a man to be single ‘isn’t selfish,’ it is just giving priority to his needs. 

What studies talk about?

The studies that support the claim that married men are doing better are biased because they want to make the married man look better and portray the single man’s life as worse. What these studies fail to highlight is that, sometimes it is the lifelong single, rather than the currently married, which are doing best. In other studies, it is the single that is the healthiest. Then there are studies which highlight previous single getting married, and staying married – they end up no happier than they were when they were single. In other words – getting married is no sure way to happiness and health. 

Stigma attached to single man

Unfortunately, single man’s life continues to be stigmatized, with single man stereotyped as less secure and more self centered than married man. Society normally labels single men as, ‘they will die sooner, alone and sad.’ There is also a notion that among society which assume single men to be unsociable, unattractive, or immature. These thinking are way of the mark because in reality many single men are charismatic and responsible.

Widespread singlehood

The number one reason why the modern men prefer to remain single is that – these men have difficulty flirting or are unable to impress the opposite sex, because most men are not even taught how to attract, date and maintain relationships with others. On top of that we live in a society that tends to have an expectation that ‘if you are an awesome enough person, things should fall into place.’ Nothing is more wrong and farther from the truth; either in life or for that matter in case of love. In the time gone by marriage were strictly arranged, which in a respect left men with little choice about who would be their wives, it also meant that their looks were irrelevant and they did not need to know how to attract women, all that was needed of them was to have the know-how of earning money to run the house. Sometimes single men’s work takes first priority, and they happily distribute much of their time to it; this leaves no time for a relationship. A man remain single because he is detailed oriented and tend to look at every little detail of a person through his perspective, and may analyze everything, thus if something makes him feel suspicious about someone, he won’t give the other person a chance anymore, that is why intelligent single men always weighs the pros and cons of why they should fall in love with another person, especially if they can be just fine by themselves. One more reason is that many single men don’t like any drama in their lives; most women love to create drama, so single men who love to be more productive, think of having a relationship as a hindrance in their life and in their success. Another reason is the fear of marriage; single men see marriage as a risk: emotional, financial and psychological.       

Singlehood is a good 

The rise in number of single men has left some in panic, but wait that is not the whole story; actually the percentage of single men is more than married men who are known for encouraging, helping and socializing with friends and neighbors. They are also more likely to visit, support, advice and stay in touch with their siblings and parents. Married men often put their spouse and kids at the centre of their lives; this behavior is perfectly fine and is also expected of them. On the other hand, single men are expanding the traditional boundaries of family. They are keeping their families, and are also putting their friends, ex-partners and mentors in their circle of family. Some men may even have committed romantic relationship, but chose to live in a place of their own. These individuals might move into their own apartment, where their friends and family are also living. They may buy a duplex with a close friend or explore co-housing communities or pocket neighborhood; which are communities of small houses clustered around shared space such as courtyard or garden. Single men are free to do what they want without having to consider a spouse’s desire; they enjoy more autonomy of their own life. Another benefit is that single men are not locked into family responsibility and obligation; they consequently can be more mobile and flexible in the climb up the career ladder. Single men tend to participate in more civic group and public events, enroll in more art and music and other self improvement classes. Single men are constantly on the lookout of finding and creating new variety of different life spaces. These examples should be a call for rejoicing, rather than doom and gloom.

Usher a new beginning

As the potential for living a full and meaningful single life for man becomes more widely known, then living single will become more of a genuine choice. And when living single is a real choice then the modern man will chose life that suits him, rather than the one that is prescribed by society.

AN ART CRITIQUE ENDEAVOR

To appreciate art, one needs to learn art critique; which is a sequential approach for looking at and talking about art. Gaurav Goswami explains all the processes that one needs to follow in order to understand art better.

It can be a lot of fun

Art criticism is not difficult; in fact it makes the study of art less mysterious and more logical. By art critique one means, the process of exercising a serious and objective examination on a work of art and making systematic judgement of it. This knowledge will give one confidence and courage to speak their mind. And as one starts to get proficient in the language of art, one will be able to delve deeper into the layers of meaning of each art piece.  

The right words

Every profession has its set of specific words that are exclusive to them; art also has its share of words. The line, tone, texture, movement and shape are just a few words in which art can be critiqued. However, the above mentioned words can be better described with the help of other words. The words used to describe line are: flowing, delicate, simple, bold, thick, and thin. When it comes to tone the words that better describe it are: subtle, contrasting, muted and dramatic. Texture is better described with words like: rough, fine, smooth, coarse, uneven. Words that describe movement are: swirling, flowing and dramatic. Art comes in various shapes, some words describing them are: organic, curvaceous, geometric, angular and elongated.

Building the ground work

When beginning a critique it is helpful to spend the first few minutes in silence contemplation of the piece i.e. simply absorb it visually. Look long enough to let the image sink into one’s consciousness, allowing the mind to sense which qualities attract and which distracts. A way to go about it is to purposely abstract the image in the mind. This is done by reducing any recognizable subject matter in shapes, lines, and filed of colour or tonal value; this is called the reduction process. After this initial inspection and before any critical determinations are made, it is often necessary to ask the artist some questions like, what they wanted the image to communicate to the viewer? Is the piece concerned only with the illusion it creates or it has a deeper meaning behind it?  Was the final product arrived at randomly, intuitively or through very deliberate choices? This question and answer session helps the critics to compare their first impressions with that of the artist. It is helpful to limit one’s thinking to the paradigm presented by the concerned piece of art. One’s arbitrary, random or impulsive assumptions are difficult to draw conclusions from; on the other hand, logical reasoning provides a structure which one can use to determine specific mystery behind the visual beauty. 

Evaluation criteria      

Art critique starts by reviewing the colour. The use of colour and the way how they are used, communicates messages and feelings to the critic. Tonal range refers to the contrast of value or the range from light to dark contained in the piece of art. For example, an artwork containing dark purple and pale yellow colour has a wide tonal range, while one containing only primary red or green colour has a narrow tonal range. The form of the piece of art gives the subject matter of a 2 D artwork the appearance of existing in 3 D space. Generally, the deeper an artist understands of the law of optical reality the more convincing the illusion. Having said that, it is helpful to know whether the artist intends these illusions to be accurate or they defy the optical laws of reality. The contents of an art work are composed in a certain arrangement, forming spatial relationships that lead the critic’s eyes around the piece or to a particular space within it. And the artist derives this effect by the composition of the piece of the art. Style in art refers to the intended distortion of optical reality in order to convey a particular meaning or express a particular feeling. When this is developed with a theory and implemented with skill, then stylization happens. Stylization adds layer of symbolism and also provide entertainment for the eyes. Cubism is a classic example of stylization. A painting consists of not only visual illusion, but a physical surface also. The characteristic of brush work and the physical qualities of the medium used contribute to the final look of the art work.      

Final thoughts

The best critiques are the result of an unfolding dialogue between the artist and the art critic. Art criticism not only has an important role in developing the work of artist, but also in helping viewer/critic to perceive and interpret works of art better. Finally a few pointers to remember while critiquing an art work: describe what one sees? Analyze how the work is organized?  Interpret what message does the art work communicate? And judge what does one think of the work?

PREDICTING THE MARKET MOVEMENT HELPS!

Knowing the market direction is very important as everyone keeps coming with the questions: ‘will the market rise?’ or ‘will the market fall?’

What?

Market direction is referred to as trend. Wherein, a stock moving upward is in upward trend, and a stock moving downward is in downward trend. There are times when stocks reach no trend  zone or sideways, this happen because as soon as market go up it forces a situation of supply and market fall down forcing a situation of demand coming in.

Types of market trend   

Technical analysis theory classifies market trend on two grounds: market direction and time period. On the basis of ‘market direction,’ a trend may be upward trend stock market trend, it is better if one buys more shares. This is because the price is expected to rise in the future. So, one can profit at a higher price in the future. Another term for upward trend is bullish trend. Downward trends are conducive to selling one’s existing holding of a stock, they are also called bearish trend. This is because the price is going to fall further. And, if one is buying in the market, he or she may want to wait before the price falls further. ‘Time period’ is classified on the basis of time series that can be traced back to the articles that Charles H Dow wrote in the Wall Street Journal between 1900 and 1902. According to it, three types of market trend exist: primary trend, secondary trend and minor trend. The primary trend, this is the longest and most important trend because it has the ability to influence the other two. A primary trend generally last for one to three years, it can go beyond that time also. Unless there is a clear sign of a trend reversal the primary trend is considered to be the main trend. In such case, peaks would be constantly higher than previous ones. Similarly, a primary trend may also be marked by a constant fall in prices for multiple years. The secondary trend, this is a temporary price movement in the contrast to the primary trend. Suppose stock prices constantly moved up for a period of 2 years, however, during these 2 years, there was one phase during which stock prices constantly declined for three months, this is called secondary trend. Similarly, if the primary trend is a fall in stock prices, the secondary trend would be a short term rise in stock prices. It is generally observed that each primary trend contains many secondary trends within it. A secondary trend is a weaker trend than a primary trend because it cannot reverse the primary trend, and last for a small time period. And the minor trend is a phase within a secondary trend. In other words, it is a short movement that is contrary to the direction of the secondary trend. It lasts for an even smaller duration, few days to a week. All the three stock movements give useful information about stock prices, but only primary and secondary are important. 

Identifying trends

Knowing the market trend is all and good but what good is that knowledge when one cannot identify these market trends, which leads to loss of money. Another important point to note is that – ‘it is easy to pick some stocks in an upward trend but the real benefit comes when one knows when is the right time to exit the investment.’ Primary trend, say an upward, is marked by an upward sloping graph, with increasing tops and bottoms. If this continues to happen, it is an indicator of a primary uptrend, and conversely, a downward sloping graph, with lower peaks and lower bottoms is an indication of a primary trend. However, the beginning of a primary trend is hard to trace. The reason is that it will always be opposite to the dominated trend, i.e. an upward trend will always come after a long downward spell, and a downward trend will always come after a long upward spell. This confuses investor who thinks it to be a secondary trend and not a new primary trend. For example; suppose that the market is in the middle of a long period of falling stock prices, observing this the investor concludes that it is a primary down ward trend and all of a sudden peaks starts rising, the investor thinks that it is a secondary upward trend. Spotting a secondary trend is similar; it is basically primary trend in reverse. Only thing to consider is that – whether it is due to a temporary secondary trend or a longer new primary trend.’     

Other ways of predicting prices/market movements

Fundamental analysis is also a widely used analysis to predict stock prices, in it, it is important to consider factors like debt, book value, EPS, etc. Some investors rely on P/E ratio. Another is volume breakout, it means sudden spurt in the traded volume of a stock. If the increase in volume is accompanied by the increase in price of a share then it indicates a bullish trend. Moving averages: simple moving averages and exponential moving averages are also helpful in predicting stock movement. These parameters show whether the stock is trading in a range or has given price breakout. Derivatives is also another way of predicting, this is speculation in nature. In this one should check both futures and options. Many use the candlestick patterns to predict stock market price movement. Investor sentiment is also used for prediction. A market; comprises of investors and traders, balances buyers and sellers, so it is impossible to literally have more buyers than sellers or its exact opposite. The investor; owns a stock for many years, follows a buy low and sell high strategy, while a trader; owns a stock for several weeks down to seconds, attempts to mirror the investor’s action, i.e. buy when they are selling and sell when they are buying. A surge in demand for investors’ lifts the trader’s ask, while a surge in supply hits the trader’s bid. When a high proportion of investors express a bearish sentiment, one may conclude it to be a strong signal that a market bottom is near.     

It is not straight forward

A question arises – ‘why aren’t more people making more money in the financial market?’ This is because people are motivated by greed when buying and by fear when selling. So people formulate scenarios based on their emotional state which prevents them from realizing that ‘their main drive is emotion.’ But having said that, trying to predict the market’s next move helps, as it gives one some directional edge which is necessary in every situation, by picking or assuming which way the market is going to turn or it will continue in the same direction.

RUMI – A DIVINE POET

Rumi’s story entails how a ‘charming, wealth noble, genius theologian, law profession and brilliant scholar’ in his thirties transformed from a bookish scholar to a seeker of universal love and truth.

Rich family heritage

Jalalud’din Muhammad Rumi’s (1207-1273 A.D.) born in a scholarly family of Balkh, present day Afghanistan, was related to the family that had links to courts, theologians and mystics.  On the one hand his parents were related to the court of the Khwarazmshah, and on the other, his family was linked to Rashidun Caliph, Abu Bakr. His father Bahaud’din, a student of Najm al Din Kubra, was a man of great learning and piety, an eloquent speaker and distinguished professor.  Unfortunately not content with the philosophers and rationalist of the day Bahaud’din seems to have indulged in political diatribes, which forced the family to leave Balkan. Another theory for their relocation is that Bahaud’din predicted the Mongol invasion.    

On the travels

On the road to Anatolia, Rumi encountered one of the most famous mystic Persian poets Farid al Din Attar, in the city of Nishapur. Attar immediately recognized Rumi’s spiritual eminence and gave the boy his ‘Asrarnama,’ a book about the entanglement of the soul in the material world. From there, Bahaud’din’s entourage set out for Bagdad meeting many scholars and Sufis on the way. After that, the family visited Mecca, Medina and Damascus, all the time Bahaud’din kept looking for a town in which he could settle in a madrasah and teach his disciples who had accompanied him along his travels. From Damascus the family moved to Aleppo and then to Malatya where they settled for four years. From there they settled in Laranda, present day Karama, south of Konya, in present day Turkey. At Laranda Rumi married Gawhar Khatun who in 1226, gave birth to his first son, Sultan Walad. Leaving Rumi and the family Bahaud’din in 1228 shifted to Konya where he worked in a madrasah until 1230 when he died.     

After his father’s death

Rumi was not only Bahaud’din’s son but also his student, and was acquainted with other Kubrawi Sufis. So after Bahaud’din’s death Rumi counted on Burhan al Din Mubaqqiq, Bahaud’din’s student, for his training. It was Mubaqqiq who persuaded Rumi to embark on a quest and immerse in the type of studies, experiences and teachings that had distinguished his father. So Rumi travelled and met other Sufi mystics, at that time Anatolia was the coming together of communities and lot of give and take was taking place among diverse groups. Rumi was already a teacher and theologian when in 1244 he came across a wandering dervish named Shamsud’din of Tabriz, the meeting proved to be the turning point of his life.

His legacy

Rumi and Tabriz stayed together for a total of two years, on two separate instances, but the meeting had an everlasting effect on his work. After Tabriz left the second time, some say murdered, Rumi fell in a state of grief and out of that pain he poured out nearly 70,000 verses of poetry. These poems are collected into two books ‘Diwan e Shams e Tabrizi’ and ‘Masnavi.’ The first book is a collection of ghazals named in honour of Tabrizi; the poems are arranged to the rhyming schemes. The other book is a collection of six volumes of poetry, in which the poems are intended to explain the various facet of spiritual life. It is believed that Rumi started Masnavi at the suggestion of his then companion, Husan al Din Chalabin.       

Trial by fire

Rumi’s serene inner state and mystical sensibilities were cultivated in large parts as a means of defense against the transience, loss and terror he endured during his childhood, no doubt helped him in becoming literature’s greatest mystical poet. He was buried besides his father in Konya.

A TALE OF HOAX

According to the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘hoax’ is an industrial age addition to the English language, where it first appeared in 1808 A.D.  

The word

The English philologist Robert Nares, 1753-1829 A.D., said that word ‘hoax’ was coined in the late 18th century as a contraction of the verb ‘hocus’  dictionary meaning of which are ‘to cheat,’ or ‘to impose upon.’ ‘Hocus’ is short for ‘hocus pocus’ which magicians chant before their tricks.

Human psyche

Everybody loves a good story. More unbelievable the tale, the more people are willing it to be true. Their thinking being, ‘surely nobody would go to such lengths to lie without good reason.’ It is this very thought that time and again gives motivation to certain people ‘to attempt to fool the general public.’ The hoaxes exploit human psychology by preying upon a number of human traits including good will, naivety, greed, fear and anxiety.

A disclosure

Every now and then there comes certain revelation that seems wild for people to wrap their heads around. Here are a few such tales from field of science, literature and internet, enjoy!

Scientific hoaxes

In 1725, a collection of stones on the outskirts of a Bavarian town was brought to Johann Beringer, chair of Natural History at the University of Wurburg, by a few of his students. The 2000 stones were curved in images of, lizards in their skin, birds with beaks and spiders etc. Beringer speculated that the stone was fossilized relics from the Great Flood. He was so sure that he wrote a book on it. The truth was that the stone had been planted by two of Beringer’s colleagues. A 10 foot long petrified human body, the Cardiff Giant, was discovered by a group of workers who were digging a well in William Newell’s farm in 1869. The truth was that, an atheist named George Hull had created a giant of gypsum as a prank on a fundamental minister who believed that Earth was once habituated by giants. Fragments of a humanlike skull, an apelike jawbone with two worn molar teeth, some stones tools and fragments of animal fossil, all discovered in a gravel pit by Charles Dawson in 1912. The skull was named, Piltdown man, and was hailed as the missing evolutionary link between apes and human. The truth was Dawson had planted the fossils, but was long dead when his hoax was revealed to the world. A British man named Ray Santilli in 1995 announced he had gotten the footage; of an autopsy of an alien whose spacecraft had crashed in summer of 1947, in Roswell, New Mexico, from a retired military cameraman. The truth, Santilli admitted in a documentary in 2006, to staging and recording the entire autopsy. But, he stood to his claim that the actual footage existed, and he only filmed the reenactment because the original footage was in bad shape.         

Literature hoaxes

In 1983 the newspaper Stern had announced the discovery of 60 small notebooks, claimed to be the personal diary of Adolf Hitler. On May 6th, 1983, West Germany’s Federal Archives released the results of a forensic investigation labeling the diaries to be hoax. A book consisting of 24 chapters that claimed to document a plot for Jewish world domination, the protocols of the Elders of Zion, might just be the most dangerous hoax in history. In the struggle for the control of Europe in the middle ages between the Catholic papacy and the crowned heads of Europe, the church seemed to have an upper hand thanks to the document. The Donation of Constantine, the document claimed that the church had transferred vast amount of land and political control from Roman Emperor Constantine1 to Pope Sylvester 1 in the 4th century A.D This turned out to be one of the most important forgeries in Europe history.    

Internet hoaxes

In 2001, an image of a helicopter performing a training maneuver in front of the Golden gate along with a white shark was passed along via email, claiming it be the National Geographic photo of the year. The truth was the image was a composite of two separate images; the helicopter’s and the shark’s. A 16 year old girl named Bree began posting videos blogs about her everyday life under the Youtube user name; lonely girl 16. The video gained a following when the girl’s parents went missing. This was proved to be fictional. In 2007, Household hackers hit big time when their viral video demonstrated how to charge an iPod using an onion and a glass of Gatorade. It was a fake.   

Why people create hoax

Who can forget the various Ponzi scheme’s over the years, which lured investors and paid profit to earlier investors by using funds obtained from newer investors. A hoax occurs when a person or group intentionally make up a fake story and pass it off as the truth. People create hoaxes for the following reasons: to draw attention to their fraudulent skills, to gain financial benefit through deceit, sociopathological hoaxers will either put their bait out or target specific individuals to vilify or discredit, especially those who pose a threat, to feed people’s secret prejudices and benefit, and lastly, it is fun to fool people.

GREAT INDIAN COURT JESTERS

A court jester in India is called a Vidusaka. From the stories and tales; both historic and fictional. I try to portray an Ancient Indian court jester.

Vidusakas of India

The trinity of Tenali Rama, Gopal and Birbal dominates the Indian court jester scene. These Vidusakas of Indian history were not jokers, nor were they only entertainers who lightened the ritualistic atmosphere of Ancient India courts. Their sharp wit and pity remarks were invariably backed by wisdom which was often used by Kings to good effect.

Weakness turned into strength

Officially a Vidusaka held no authority in court, normally perceived as a drawback, but it was precisely this absence of rank that allowed the jesters to be free with their opinions, since their words could be considered jokes. However, they needed to be careful not to overstep boundaries and suffer the wrath of their Kings. These jesters were trained musicians, actors or artists, some of them became trusted and valued confidants in courts, and some jesters like Birbal even fought in wars for their King. These skilled entertainers often used clever gibes at the enemies of their King’s and also directed their King’s attention to the problems of the society.        

A jester at work

The following story best illustrates how Vidusaka goes out about their daily works. A visiting King is very pleased by the entertainment provided by the court jester. The visiting King asks the jester to say something new and if pleased, then the King would reward the jester with some gold coins. At first the jester declined the offer, citing fewer gold coins as the reason. But the jester finally agreed to take up the offer only when the visiting King raised the stakes; parting with the bag of gold coins. At this moment jester declined to take the bag of gold reasoning that the King has pleased the jester with the act of big heartedness. Then the jester started to bad mouth his King as miser and stingy. This resulted in the whole court breaking into laughter. The visiting King laughed because of jester’s flattery, the host King laughed because the jester has conveyed the truth, but in a humorous way, and the court laughed because both Kings were happy. In the end the jester was handsomely rewarded.  

Some of the gems

The famous Indian court jesters are: Tenali Ramkrishna, Gopal Bhar, Birbal, and Gonu Jha. Pundit Gonu Jha of Bharona village is thought to be one of the earliest court jesters in North India. Tenali Ramkrishna, 16th century, the South Indian jester of King of Vijayanagar is said to be a Shivaite; worshipper of Shiv by birth, but converted to Vaishnavite; worshipper of Vishnu. Birbal was initially called Mahesh Das, 1528-1586, before becoming one of the nine navaratnan of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Gopal Bhar or Gopal Bhand was the court jester of the court of King Krishna Chandra Roy of Nadia, 1710-1783. It is believed that Gopal is a legendary personality. But a reference has been found. There was a body guard of the King of Nadia, who was given special status by the King. Gopal Bhar’s statues can still be seen in the palace of Krishna Chandra and in Ghurni, Krishnagar town. 

Concluding thought

Great Indian jesters were always on the side of common people in fighting oppression against the rich and powerful, with their unique weapons: wit and humour.