AWAKENINGS

The Hindu’s Readers’ Editor – A.S. Panneerselvan had knowingly crossed his Lakshman Rekha, when he remarked in his The Hindu dated the 25 th May 2020 ‘From The Readers’ Editor’ column under the headings – Fourth Estate and the Fifth Column’ that ‘Speaking the truth is the role of the fourth estate; being a megaphone for propaganda is the role of the fifth column’. To equate wrong reporting and even for that matter ‘propaganda reporting’ as alledged by Panneerselvan to the most treacherous trend of Journalism viz. Fifth Column is of narrow and prejudiced and jaundiced mind of the Readers’ Editor. Panneerselvan, to buttress his stand of ‘Fifth Column Journalism’, had shared a personal story: “I was Bureau Chief of Outlook magazine, when it broke the story, “Command Failure”. The report explained that the 1999 war with Pakistan took place as the military and political leadership did not take cognizance of the timely warnings of the man on the ground, Birg. Surinder Singh, ...

The most horrific and barbaric mob lynching of 3 innocent persons happened on April 16, 2020 in Gadakchinchale village at   Palghar district which was carved out of Thane near Mumbai having a large tribal population. There had been rumors that organ harvesting gangs, child lifters and thieves were operating in the area, especially at night, for which the locals had formed vigilante groups. The area is a Maoist hotbed and having Church Influence. The evangelical Christian missionary mafia is active in Palghar district and natives of the region talk about a notorious land mafia which is run by some tribals under auspices of a Communist movement called “ Laal Bawta ” . Christian Missionaries have set up Churches in the Dahanu-Palghar tribal region north of Mumbai and a large number of Church-funded leftist NGOs are operating in the region. On that fateful night of April 16, two Sadhus associated with the Juna Akhara , 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maha...

Shankara was born of poor but pious Nambudiri Brahmin couple in the Kaladi village of the Kerala kingdom. He lost his father early. He was the couple’s only child and the mother resisted her son becoming a monk giving up all worldly life. It took great persuasion on Shankara’s part to win her over. He promised attending on her final hour. He went in search of a  guru  for further spiritual guidance and studied under Govinda Bhagavatpada , who was a famous disciple of  the great saint Gowdapadacharya . Gowdapadacharya advocated monism or advaita . All the learning Shankara mastered was put to use through his brilliant eloquence. Dialetics , logic and semantics were the primary areas of scholar hood in those days, and the only means to achieve supremacy was to argue and win debates in august assemblies of scholars.  Shankara argued and won over many great scholars of his time belonging to different faiths. He established that the original teac...