” Kabira khada bazaar main liye lukhati haath,Jo ghar phoonke apna, chale hamare saath “
Literally this doha ( couplet ) of the great poet Kabir means” Kabir stands in the market, flaming torch in hand.
Whoever burns down his house should come with me “But that is only the figurative meaning. Its real meaning is :
” Whoever stands with the people, with patriotism in his heartShould forget his self interest, and follow me “
Human beings have two basic attributes, reason and emotion. Of the two great ideological builders of modern Europe, Voltaire and Rousseau, the former emphasized reason and the latter emphasized emotion. Not that Voltaire did not have emotion or that Rousseau did not have reason. But the whole point is about the emphasis. Voltaire certainly had empathy for the suffering people, but he emphasized on rationalism, and was a fierce critic of religious bigotry. Rousseau, on the other hand, emphasized on compassion for the poor and suffering people, and attacked the whole feudal system, which he regarded as the basic cause of people’s suffering.The English political philosopher Hobbes in his ‘ Leviathan’ had written that men are wicked by nature, caring only for their self interest. Rousseau disagreed, and said that apart from self interest, men also have the attribute of compassion for the suffering of their fellow humans.
In his ‘Discourse on the Origins of Inequality’ written in 1754 Rousseau says :
” It is then certain that compassion is a natural feeling, which, by moderating the violence of love of self in each individual, contributes to the preservation of the whole species. It is this compassion that hurries us without reflection to the relief of those who are in distress: it is this which in a state of nature supplies the place of laws, morals and virtues, with the advantage that none are tempted to disobey its gentle voice: it is this which will always prevent a sturdy savage from robbing a weak child or a feeble old man of the sustenance they may have with pain and difficulty acquired, if he sees a possibility of providing for himself by other means: it is this which inculcates that sublime maxim of rational justice. Do to others as you would have them do unto you ”.
Patriotism is compassion for the whole nation. A genuine patriot forgets his self interest, and fights for the upliftment of his nation, and for the end of suffering of his fellow countrymen, even if in the process he is killed..
History is full of examples of patriots. Cincinnatus was a farmer, but when Rome was in danger he left his farm, took command of the Roman army, defeated the enemies of Rome, and then retired to his farm and obscurity. George Washington was a rich farmer in Virginia, but when the American colonies rose up in rebellion against British rule, he took command of the Continental Army ( even at the risk of being hanged by the British if caught ), defeated the British forces, and then handed back the sword of his command to the American Continental Congress, retiring to his farm ( later he was elected President, a post he never sought )..In India, Bhagat Singh, Surya Sen ( Masterda ), Chandrashekhar Azad, Bismil, Ashfaqulla, Rajguru, Khudiram Bose, Sukhdev, etc gave their lives for liberating India from British rule. Countless other such examples can be given. These men never bothered about their self interest, but had the flame of patriotism in their hearts, and they were guided by the spirit of Kabir’s doha
Today India needs genuine patriots to overcome the huge socio-economic challenges it faces.But unfortunately most of our educated youth, in whose breasts the flame of patriotism should be burning, are utterly selfish and careerists, whose only desire is to get cushy jobs and make money, and care two hoots for the country. How then will a prosperous India arise ?
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-a-call-to-indian-patriots/
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-future-of-india/
Today India is in dire socio-economic distress, with massive poverty, massive unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition ( every second child in India is malnourished, according to Global Hunger Index ), 57% of our women are anaemic, there is skyrocketing prices of essential commodities like food, fuel and medicines, almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses, etc.
Only a mighty historical protracted people’s struggle, in which tremendous sacrifices will have to be made, led by patriotic, selfless, secular, modern minded leaders, like Mustafa Kemal of Turkey, can bring us out of the morass and predicament we are in, and create a political and social order in which our people enjoy a high standard of living, and lead decent lives
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-coming-great-revolution-in-india/
Many people ask me ” You say that most Indian youth are utterly selfish and unpatriotic. Where then will patriots come from ? ”.
My answer is that historical experience shows that whenever a country was in dire distress, a group of genuine patriots spontaneously emerged e.g. John Hampden, John Pym, and Oliver Cromwell in England, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams in America, Robespierre, Marat and Danton in France, Simon Bolivar in South America, Garibaldi in Italy, the Narodniks and Lenin in Russia, etc. So will it be in India
. https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-task-before-indian-patriots/
Even if in a minority, there are bound to be some patriots in India, though they are presently anonymous. The task now is to organise them
https://indicanews.com/it-is-high-time-now-to-organize-indian-patriots/I am confident that many Indian youth, who have ‘sarfaroshi ki tamanna’ in their hearts, will respond positively to Kabir’s call
