ALL TIME RELEVANCE OF BHAJA GOVINDAM PROPOUNDED BY INDIAN SAINT ADI SANKARA FOR UNIVERSAL PEACE-by N.S.Venkataraman
In the last several centuries , in all regions in the world , number of saints and deep thinkers have observed and evaluated the human life process carefully and dispassionately and concluded that compassion , truth , detachment and devotion to God should be the hallmark and central theme of every human’s life. According to these great saints and deep thinkers , this is the only way to ensure peace and harmony in individual’s life as well as in the society and in the world.
As thought process of individuals is the determining factor in shaping one’s attitude in life , all saints and deep thinkers said that the “battle” for peaceful life of humans must be fought in their mind . In other words, reforming the thought process of the humans is vitally necessary to ensure peace all round.
In India, there have been several saints and deep thinkers , who have renounced all material desires and focused on spiritual exercise life long .They have exhorted the humans to develop spirit of nobility and love for everyone around, whether they be fellow humans or other animals and creatures or even trees and plant species.
The Indian saint Adi Sankara was born several centuries back and lived for just around 39 years and during his short life span , he criss crossed across India, evolving and fine tuning his thoughts . He set up several mutts ( centre of spiritual excellence ) to propagate his thought process , which are as per the traditional Hindu philosophy and which is not much different in essence from the philosophy of several other religions, particularly with regard to the need for faith in God and importance of harmony and peace
Adi Sankara wrote several poems invoking God’s blessings and while everyone of them have great merit and significance, Bhaja Govindam propounded by Adi Sankara stand like a jewel amongst them.
Careful study of Bhaja Govindam clearly reveal that it reflects the salient teachings of all religions and can be described as “one-stop shop” , where multiple requirements for peaceful life are highlighted in just 31 poems with four lines in each poem, written forcefully and eloquently in Sanskrit language .
In Bhaja Govindam, Adi Sankara mixes no words and he is blunt , calling those who harbour jealousy, hatred , greed and indulge in quarrel as fools. Obviously, in today’s context , this could also refer to the leaders of governments who launch wars., cause destruction and killing of mass of people due to the greed and territorial expansion ambition.
In Bhaja Govindam , it is stressed that everyone should introspect on “who you are”, which would certainly help in taking a realistic view on life process.
Adi Sankara further implies that human life is essentially a time passing exercise, with no one clearly knowing as to when would the end come and how would the end come. Acquisition of property and wealth have no real purpose or significance and only fools fail to realise this. While on the same theme , he also highlights the ageing process and how the priorities change with advancing age and with the past activities appearing to be wasteful, as one advance in age. The insignificance of human life and the activities are emphatically explained by stating that when a person would die even husband / wife would fear the lifeless body.
Adi Sankara firmly states in Bhaja Govindam that humans have to devote themselves to worship of God, ( he terms as Govindam ) and such devotion and focus on God life long would elevate the thought process and enable one to live life of peace and harmony. When individual humans have such mental attribute , it will certainly result in peaceful climate in the society and in the world. At the same time, Adi Sankara also says that mere knowledge of religious texts and spiritual postures would be wasteful, in the absence of wisdom and deep faith in God.
In spite of such teachings and advocacy by several saints all over the world, the ground reality is that quarrel , greed, jealousy , intolerance and violence have not gone away from the world and on the other hand , intensity of the conflicts appear to be increasing over the years. Science and technology has brought great changes in the material world with advancement in research efforts. But, with mental attitude of humans largely remaining unchanged , in spite of the teachings of great saints in the past, the wars and conflicts have now become more frequent and destructive . The world peace looks like a mirage and an Utopian expectation.
However, such prevalent conditions do not make the advocacies of the saints for peace and harmony to become irrelevant or obsolete. Far from it, they remain extremely relevant and important and such advocacies remain the benchmark for the civilized world to target.
While no one can guess as to when it would happen or whether it would happen at all, the need is that it should happen sooner or later, sooner than later
Recognising the universal relevance of Bhaja Govindam and the urgent and utmost need to inculcate spirit of tolerance and peace in the present strife torn world, it would be appropriate if the United Nations Organisation declare that Bhaja Govindam as the anthem for the world. Such step would be in tune with the earlier steps taken by United nations Organisation to celebrate Yoga Day and Meditation day
