ATAL - BHARAT RATNA

I wondered when Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, was conferred on the former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee recently. He is bedridden and unaware of the things happening around him. In this condition of his body and mind, Pranab Mukherjee, the present President of India, going to his residence and presenting this award formally is a sign of degradation of Indian culture. We have no standards and values anymore but just nepotism and narrow-minded attitudes. If somebody is close to me, I recommend any award or reward to him or her.

Narendra Modi found Atal as a great poet, parliamentarian, thinker, ruler and administrator because he grew under his kind and affectionate guidance. In fact, he did not do any wonders in India in any of his roles mentioned above. There are many greater thinkers, achievers, rulers, poets, lyricists, writers than Atal in India but because they did not belong to BJP party, Mr. Narendra Modi could not appreciate their worth as creative challengers and wizards of India. It shows that Narendra is also a typical Indian politician, who favors his party men and followers rather than the highest standards and values of Indian culture. He is not an idealist anymore but just a loyal and blind follower of his party and his ulterior motives. Next year, he should offer Bharat Ratna to L K Advani, I presume!

Bharat Ratna is no more than a tissue paper for me now in India because it was conferred on many undeserving persons so far. It became a political gift. Those with political power can award it to any of their beloved ones.

I believe an award like Bharat Ratna should be conferred on somebody when he or she meets the following criteria.

1. His thoughts and acts contributed to happiness and success of millions of people in a region or world. In doing so, he or she did not start a bad trend, which in long run destroys the basic spirit of a culture or civilization. For example: Sachin Tendulkar contributed to happiness of millions of Indians through his game of cricket for some years but it led to a bad culture. He killed learning instinct for knowledge and skills in millions of Indians directly. Cricket became a fatal infection of India. Even those, holding highest positions in various companies, are poor at basic general knowledge and minimum skills required to be possessed by a normal human being. Millions of Indians are infected with this highly negative and fatal cultural disease of India now. Sachin and other sports related idiots in India established such nasty and retrograde culture in India. How does he deserve Bharat Ratna? What is his contribution to sustainable development and happiness of Indians? What message are we giving to good Indians?

2. We should not give any award to anybody posthumously. According to sanathana dharma of Indians and the Bhagavad Gita, a departed soul has no connection with the body that left behind in any place. The purpose of any prize or award is to provide a great deal of happiness or benefit to the one that is getting it for his or her achievements in a field. When that body is not living or unconscious, what’s use of honoring it? Soul is not associated with material attractions. It has no feelings. It is divine force, vitalizing a body with a visible form, scheduled with a purpose, set on a long journey by God. When the body and soul of a person are not feeling happy, because of what we gave a person with a material identity, what is the purpose of such identification and appreciation? Spiritually it is wrong to deeply remember and mourn the death of people and creatures. If we suffer thinking about them, it blocks their spiritual growth and divine journey in the other planes. Once a soul quits a body, it travels in many higher planes in a miniscule form and reaches its scheduled abode there to experience the results of its bad or good Karma executed in its human or other form earlier in this material world. So, we are committing a blunder honoring anybody after death. If you like his photo, keep it in your bedroom and worship him every day. That’s enough. You should not present your thoughts and feelings as those of the world. Narendra Modi is seeing Atal as God because His psychological domain is that narrow, superficial, pitiable and dark. When a body cannot recognize and appreciate the beauty and wonders of this world, created and animated by God, as part of His long game, that body is said to be virtually dead, though heart is beating and senses are nominally functional. Atal is in that physical and psychological condition now. His soul is waiting to depart at a suitable time. What difference can Bharat Ratna make in his material life now? Is not Narendra Modi appearing as a faithful loyalist and slave to BJP and those belonging to that party in struggling to honor Atal at the eleventh hour in his material life? He may be a wonderful person in many respects but he degraded to a mean level in this regard. If he does things of this order hereafter, out of his blind love and loyalty to his party and those supporting his party directly or indirectly, in the views of real idealists and thinkers of this nation and world, he shall be presented as a hypocrite and opportunist. God does not appreciate those with nepotism, partiality and narrow-minded outlook. We should think broadly and do things very ideally always.

3. The selection process for awarding Bharat Ratna should be very rigorous. Highly talented, unbiased and ideal achievers of a nation or nations should finalize name/s for it. There must be ultimate criteria for it. No direct or indirect influence from others should enable or block one from getting an award of this order and stature. The extraordinary achievements of one that got an award must be kept accessible to all to know and follow in their lives and professions. Achievers seldom promote themselves. It is the moral responsibility of governments to search and find out such stalwarts and wizards in their nations. It is not right to honor celebrities only with these awards. In fact, 60% of those celebrities, who got awards like Padmasri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, so far, do not deserve them. We can understand it if we meticulously and objectively examine their characters as persons, professionals, artists or achievers. There should not be involvement of politicians in this aspect of honor at any level in any government.