{"id":278,"date":"2007-05-14T17:10:00","date_gmt":"2007-05-14T11:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/archives\/278"},"modified":"2014-12-29T23:31:57","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T18:01:57","slug":"thinkin-aloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/archives\/278","title":{"rendered":"Thinkin Aloud"},"content":{"rendered":"

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THINKING ALOUD<\/p>\n

Every little squirrel helps in its own way<\/strong>
Sudheendra Kulkarni
Posted online: Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 0000 hrs<\/div>\n

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http:\/\/www.indianexpress.com\/story\/30786.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen I saw the Amrita Sethu, my memory went back to Rameshwaram. It is said that Lord Rama ordered the construction of a bridge at Rameshwaram Dhanushkody. His vanaras [monkeys] built the bridge in time for Rama\u2019s troops to go to Lanka for waging the war against the evil Ravana, as mentioned in the Ramayana. Satellite pictures show that the remnants of a bridge still exist between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka.\u201d
Who said this? President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on December 20, 2006, when he inaugurated a unique seva project called \u2018Amrita Sethu\u2019 in Kerala. Inspired by Mata Amritananamayi (\u2018Amma\u2019 or the \u2018Hugging Mother\u2019), thousands of her devotees had built, through voluntary effort, a bridge connecting Alappad Panchayat with the mainland. Alappad had witnessed massive devastation after the tsunami of 2004, with nearly 150 deaths. The bridge would help quick evacuation of its 25,000 residents in the event of a future calamity.
The president then said something deeply touching. \u201cI have seen, in my younger days, how the Rameshwaram cyclones shattered the dreams of my father, a boat builder. So, friends, as a boatman\u2019s son, I can understand this bridge\u2019s importance. Amma has a noble mission. Every time I come to Amritapuri, I have found a unique thing. That is, give, go on giving. In giving, one gets pleasure, happiness, anand [bliss]. It\u2019s not only money. You can share knowledge. You can remove the pain. And you can even go to the person who is suffering. Every one of us \u2014 the rich and poor \u2014 can give.\u201d
Now we know why Dr. Kalam, a \u2018People\u2019s President\u2019, has become one of the most popular occupants of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan. If the people of India, and not just our MPs and MLAs, had a say in electing the next president, he would surely secure a second term with an overwhelming majority. But this column is neither about the politics of the upcoming presidential election nor about the current debate over Ram Sethu in Tamil Nadu. Rather, it is about that profound ethic of \u201cgiving\u201d, best explained by the little story in the Ramayana about a little squirrel\u2019s contribution to the construction of the mighty bridge to Lanka.
When Hanuman\u2019s vaanar sena was busy building the bridge, a squirrel was seen doing something funny: rolling herself in the sand and then shaking off her body to deposit sand particles amongst rocks brought by the monkeys. When asked, she said, \u201cI am making my own small contribution to build the bridge for ending the injustice against Sita.\u201d The monkeys roared in mocking laughter: \u201cWe have never heard anything so foolish.\u201d Seeing this, Rama remarked, \u201cBlessed be the little squirrel. She is doing her work to the best of her ability. Therefore, she is quite as great as the greatest of you. Never despise those that are not as strong as you. What truly matters is not the strength one has, but the love and devotion with which one works.\u201d Then he gently stroked the squirrel on the back, and it is believed that the marks of Rama\u2019s three fingers are still seen on the squirrel\u2019s back.
This story is cherished by all Indians except those who are not proud of their nation\u2019s cultural and spiritual heritage. It is so much a part of India\u2019s rich folklore that nearly every Indian language has a phrase to extol it. In Kannada, it is \u2018alilu seve\u2019 (squirrel\u2019s service). In Marathi, it is \u2018khaaricha vaata\u2019 (squirrel\u2019s contribution). Sadly, as our folk traditions get rapidly eroded by fake modernity, our ruling elite also seems to have rejected the moral of the squirrel\u2019s story. In India\u2019s current efforts to build a bridge to a brighter and more prosperous future, only the contribution of big companies and billionaire businessmen gets applauded.
Nobody cares for the \u201csmall\u201d men and women toiling in their fields, factories, workshops etc. Neither is their \u201cgiving\u201d acknowledged, nor are they getting their due share in the benefits of what they are building.
For example, when is the last time you saw a prime minister talking to the cart-puller in a busy bazaar? Do any of our business tycoons ever lend a helping hand to the sweeper cleaning their offices and homes? I have often seen arrogant political leaders, who give sanctimonious speeches on party building and nation building but treat their own ordinary karyakartas like dirt. Do we \u2014 you and I \u2014 talk to our chaiwala politely as we discuss the nation\u2019s economic or security policy? Do we all really believe that every Indian, howsoever small, should have an honoured place in our society? Point is: there are \u2018human squirrels\u2019 all around us, but they are not made to feel that they too are making a valuable contribution. Despite talk of \u201cinclusive growth\u201d, there is little effort to promote an inclusive mentality. India can become a great nation only when the rich build bridges with the poor \u2014emotionally, socially, and spiritually \u2014 and when all Indians are motivated by the culture of giving, with love and devotion. <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THINKING ALOUD Every little squirrel helps in its own waySudheendra KulkarniPosted online: Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 0000 hrs http:\/\/www.indianexpress.com\/story\/30786.html \u201cWhen I saw the Amrita Sethu, my memory went back to Rameshwaram. It is said that Lord Rama ordered the construction of a bridge at Rameshwaram Dhanushkody. His vanaras [monkeys] built the bridge in time … Continue reading Thinkin Aloud<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}