Bharatiya Darshan

Gandhi and Ambedkar looked at the problem of untouchability from two very different perspectives. Gandhi had a very keen sense of justice and human dignity, but it was conditioned by his religious convictions. Ambedkar's views were shaped by personal experience of the inequities of the caste system; he had personally suffered the humiliations and insults meted out  to an untouchable by a caste ridden society. Gandhi's point of view was that the problem of untouchability was a problem of the self, in this  case the collective Hindu self. It is a social problem that is very personal to Hindu, it is not a political issue. Ambedkar has defined the problem in terms of building an independent political identity for Dalits in the structures of social, economic, and political powers Gandhi, Ambedkar - 1932 Poona Pact The 1931 Poona Pact shaped India’s Dalit political representation, and its implications are felt even in today’s parliamentary elections....

Relevance in Veda Please see explanation of pancha bhuta in the associated blog Why water is used for various vedic rituals 1. Water is easily available resource so it can be used with minimal or no cost 2. Water indicates life Example: scientists first search for water to get indication of life.  3. Water is the symbol for purification. hence symbolically for all purification acts water is used including inner purification 4. Invocation of lord in water would increase respect for the environment and hence can never pollute rivers and other water bodies Spiritual importance According to veda, water has high spiritual importance as a universal purifier. Of course, Agni is the supreme symbol of purity and purification, but for obvious practical reasons, water is used more intimately to purify.  Water is also called as Apa In the Vedas, Agni is called  jAtavedas  and  vaishvAnara , which signify omnipresence and omniscience. So it is Agni present...

“ Achamanam ” .  Achamanam is a purification ritual.  There are three types of Achamanam i.e. Shrauthaachamanam, Smrutaachamanam (or) Smaarthaachamanam and Puranaachamanam. In most of the variations  , individual sips water three times and recite purification mantras.   Irrespective of mantra (or) ritual, But most important key words here are “water” and “purification”, both internal and external but mostly internal/spiritual. Water Please See blog for relevance of water  Purification One should be pure both mentally and physically before any ceremonial worship of God or his attendants. By sipping water, itself a form of Narayana, one purifies the mouth and heart before one chants His praises. By reciting His Name while doing so, one centers his mind on God; the mind thereby discards its naturally lustful, angry, and greedy condition, making itself ready to bow before the Supreme. So it is with these thoughts and intentions that  Acha...