Post No. 8728
Date uploaded in London – –23 SEPTEMBER 2020
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
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tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
sang nobel laureate RABINDRANATH TAGORE IN GITANJALI
Tagore derived his inspiration from Swami Vivekananda who got it from the Vedas.
Swami Vivekananda condemned fear in the strongest terms . He repeated his statement against it in several lectures.
“Fear is a sign of weakness – vol.1, page 47
The greatest sin is fear – 5-35
It is fear that brings misery, fear that brings death, fear that breeds evil 3-160
It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions -3-321
It is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment – same as above
Those who are protected by the Lord must be above fear” -6-342
Swamiji also advises,
“The only religion that ought to be taught is the religion of fearlessness” – 3-160
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He derived inspiration from our ancient Vedas.
In the Atharva Veda Rishi Atharvan prays ( 19-15)
“Lead us to a free world , wise one,
Where lie the divine lustre, sunlight, and security.
Valiant are your arms , the powerful;
We will take to your vast shelter.
Adorable Indra , our saviour,
Vritra slayer and furtherer of our highest aims
May he be our protector from the end,
From the middle, from behind and from in front “.
Singing like this and chanting such mantras together will make one strong”.
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Even the greatest of the modern poets Subrahmanya Bharati sings,
In the cart man’s song (Vandikkaaran paattu in Tamil) , he says,
“If robbers do infest the way
That lies across the jungle grey
Our house hold deity—Virammal
To save us all will surely hie.
If robbers vile on us close in
And bid us stop our cart within
We will our dark Maari invoke
Then Death too will quake like one broke”
In another verse Bharati says,
“Beat the drum, beat the drum
Beat the drum of victory!
The demon of fear we have ejected,
The snake Deceit we have killed
The Vedic blaze which lights our days
All earth with bliss has filled”.
His lines points to inspiration from the Vedas.
But his oft quoted song against fear, particularly against British atrocities
Repeats ‘ FEAR we NOT’ (Accham Illai !Accham Illai ! in Tamil) at least 25 times!!
Just some lines from the song …….
“Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
Though all the world be ranged against us
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all
Though we are slighted and scorned by others
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
Though fated to a life of beggary and want
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
Though all we owned and held as dear be lost
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
Though the corset breasted cast their glances
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
Though friends should feed us poison brew
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
Though spears reeking flesh come and assail us
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
Though the skies break and fall on the head
Fear we not Fear we not Fear we not at all!
(My father V Santanam, News Editor, Dinamani, Madurai and a freedom fighter sang such Bharati songs while distributing pamphlets against the British Rule in Chennai Marina beach in the 1940s was arrested and jailed along with national leader K Kamaraj in Vellore Jail)
From my old post in this blog:–
FEARLESSNESS IN ATHARVAVEDA
1.O Indra! God of Supreme Power! Make us fearless of all such things whereof we are afraid of AV 19-15-1
(Yath Indra Bhayamahe……………………….. AV 19-15-1)
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2.May the atmosphere give us peace and safety and may both these heaven and earth be secure for us. May we be free from danger from west and east and may there be no fear from north and south AV 19-15-5
(Abhayam Na: ……………………. AV 19-15-5)
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3.May we be fearless of our friends and even of those who are unfriendly to us, may we never fall in dread of those whom we know and even of those we don’t know: May we remain free from any apprehension by night and in the day time, and may all the quarters be friendly to us AV 19-15-6
(Abhayam mitradha bhayam ………………. AV 19-15-6)
TAGS- FEAR, FEAT NOT, WHERE THE MIND IS, TAGORE, BHARATI, V.SANTANAM
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Tamil and Vedas 