By Hugh & Colleen Gantzer
The first great churning was described in our verbal traditions. We call this law ITIHAS and, to us, it is the world’s greatest lode of scientific knowledge waiting to be discovered. These are finely constructed allegories which contain truths in exquisitely crafted tales designed to be passed down through the generations, unchanged, till they reach a time when scientific knowledge is sufficiently advanced to decipher them, as our generation is. It is clear to us that the Churning of the Ocean refers to a great debate between two successive waves of emigrants from Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s Arctic Home in the Vedas.
According to the University of Colorado’s Research, the Arctic was covered with vegetation 125,000 years ago.
The first wave of emigrants became the people of Persia, now Iran. In their original form they are represented by the Parsis, who still maintain their fire-worshipping tradition. They also respect bovines and wear a Holy String, called a NOWZAD. The second wave of fire worshipping Agnihotris became our Brahmins. The first wave, however, refused to accommodate them in ancient Persia and so they were forced to migrate to India. The Ahura Deities of the first wave became the Asuras of the Second Wave. The great debate between the two was referred to as The Churning of the Ocean. The Agreement that arose out of that debate is referred to as THE GEMS, LIKE SOMA ALSO KNOWN AS HOMA. The disagreements were swallowed by Mahadeva and kept unspoken in his throat which made his throat blue. There was also a Third Wave which came to India. The Second Wave told them that there was no more land to farm. So, they became fishermen. We refer to them today as the Saraswat Brahmins.
These theories are based on legends and beliefs we have picked up during our travels. We are not historians and we are relating them for what they are: interesting stories. They are certainly not controversial points to create fractures in Indic society.
Having said that, we are appalled to find the deliberate tensions that have been created in Indian society by vicious statements spouting from the lips of even senior politicians. Clearly they know that many of the so-called achievements of their respective parties are a lot of hot air. They are aware that even the most highly paid spin doctors can divert attention from their pursuit of ill-gotten gains created by their mutilation of the truth. Sadly, there is no Mahadeva to swallow their poisonous lies.
In contrast to the behaviour of many of our netas, we have also learnt of two wonderful happenings that highlight the extraordinary, positive reactions of our fellow Indians.
The first is the statement made by the President of our land to the protectors of our forests. According to a National Daily, Madam Droupadi Murmu addressed the Convocation Ceremony of the 2022 batch of Indian Forest Officer Trainees at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy at Dehradun on 24 April this year. Among the many wonderful statements she reportedly made this one stands out. “Today, the conservation of the earth’s biodiversity and natural beauty is an urgent task. Human life can be saved from danger through the conservation and promotion of forests and wild animals. Therefore, I consider the responsibility of Indian Forest Service Officers to be very important.”
Those of our netas who have colluded with the timber mafia to sell trees should hang their heads in shame.
The second feel-good story comes from another National Daily. Thirty-year old Tinkesh Kaushik set off from Goa, carrying a 6 kg backpack for the Everest Base Camp. He is a triple amputee. When he was 9 years old, he lost both his lower limbs below the knee and his left upper shoulder in an electrocution accident in Haryana. He said: “I faced physical challenges but finished the trek with my mental strength.”
Compare this with a neta sitting in an expensive, air-conditioned, imported, bulletproof car protected by his security guards financed by the tax-payers of India. Such high speed glimpses are called darshans.
But who gave such senior netas the right to believe that they are darshan-given demi-gods?
(Hugh & Colleen Gantzer hold the National Lifetime Achievement Award for Tourism among other National and International awards. Their credits include over 52 halfhour documentaries on national TV under their joint names, 26 published books in 6 genres, and over 1,500 first-person articles, about every Indian state, UT and 34 other countries. Hugh was a Commander in the Indian Navy and the Judge Advocate, Southern Naval Command. Colleen is the only travel writer who was a member of the Travel Agents Association of India.) (The opinions and thoughts expressed here reflect only the authors’ views!).
