Triumphant Rationalism: The Upanishads

The Hindus have a number of holy books to guide them, starting with the Vedas, Ramayana, & Mahabharata (which includes the Bhagavat Gita). However all these above mentioned are region & time specific. 

The Vedic Gods are mainly Fire, Water & Wind. The prayers offered to them are for health, wealth, progeny & annihilation of enemies, which are hardly spiritual in nature.

Some of the actions of the "Incarnations"of God in the other books mentioned above, are at best, not fully acceptable to the modern mind. Instances in the Ramayana  are the killing of Vali & trials of Sita, not to mention the anthropomorphic viewing of monkeys & bears. In the Mahabharata, the role of Krishna in the demise of Karna & Duryodhana are also problematic as is the Gita which supports caste based occupations.

Though a part of the Vedas, the Upanishads rise triumphantly above all these region, religion & time based limitations to preach a truly universal & perennial philosophy.

In the Chandogya Upanishad, Satyakama,  though of obscure origin, is deemed fit to receive spiritual education, blowing the caste system sky-high to smithereens. Also mentioned in this Upanishad is the story of Svetaketu, who is taught an ancient version of what later became the Atomic theory, that of subdividing matter into minute particles.

Most important & relevant now is the Mundaka Upanishad, which says "Considering religion to be observance of rituals, the deluded remain ignorant of the highest good. Having enjoyed in heaven, the reward of their good works, they enter again into the world of mortals. (back to zero!) But those who practice austerity (voluntary poverty & celibacy) & meditation in solitude & silence, attain liberation."(the true goal of human life.) The universality of this last exhortation is underlined by the fact that Jainism, though non-vedic in origin, subscribes to this belief.

Family Support or Social Policing?

Wealthy or powerful people shielding their kith & kin even if they break the law of the land is quite common. This gradually erodes the people's trust in the law enforcing machinery.

This has been prevalent since the time of Mahabharata, where turning the blind eye towards their erring offspring (literally!) by Dhritarashtra & Gandhari, led to the decimation of the Kaurava dynasty.

However, it was also quite common to endorse "social policing" in the first part of the twentieth century, as recollected by the well-known actor & playwright, Master Hirannaiah. He had said if misdeeds of children were reported to their parents, they would happily endorse the complainants to suitably punish them themselves!

Another variant of "social policing" is the "vigilante" system, where people take the law into their own hands, when the justice machinery is ineffective. The classic instance is the "Four Just Men" series of novels by the popular mystery writer of the early twentieth century, Edgar Wallace.

Two extreme cases of this "social policing" are shown firstly in the popular film "Mother India" (where an upright mother shoots dead her own incorrigibly evil son) & secondly in Agatha Christie's Poirot story "The Chocolate Box", where a similarly upright mother poisons to death her own son, realising his demonic nature.

Dostoevsky, Bresson & Badshah!

"The Idiot" was one of Fyodor Dostoevsky's favourite novels. He created the character of Prince Myshkin, a totally good man, who carries the moniker of the title.

Mani Kaul, one of the makers of art house films in India, adapted the novel to make a Hindi film, 30 years ago. It was made for Doordarshan & never got a theatrical release. Mani Kaul, was inspired by the spare, austere film style of the French auteur, Robert Bresson, who famously discouraged any "acting" from his cast, & instructed them to deliver their dialogues in a monotone. 

In "The Idiot", Shah Rukh Khàn, who later became the "Badshah of Bollywood" had a role as a friend of the title character. Mita Vasisht, who in her later films also, used the non-dramatic delivery of her dialogues, (a la Bresson), played the role of Nastasya.

This film thus had the unique confluence of a Russian novel, film technique influenced by a French Master & the national language of this country.

Lady Detectives in the "Golden Age"

The first was Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, a creation of Baroness Orczy, more famous for her "The Scarlet Pimpernel." Lady Molly started her sleuthing to free her unjustly accused fiancee. Her cases number only twelve, faithfully recorded by her adoring acolyte, Mary Granard.

The next to appear was Miss Maud Silver, created by Patricia Wentworth. She appeared in print much before her more famous "sister detective", Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple. However she appeared in 32 novels compared to 12 of Miss Marple. Both were elderly spinsters but Miss Silver was a governess in her younger days & a professional detective in her second innings. The popularity of Miss Silver is attested by the fact that her books are still in print. Ms. Niranjana Iyer Subramanian writes that Miss Silver is the cleverer sister of Miss Marple!

Miss Jane Marple is of course the most famous female detective created by the incomparable Agatha Christie. She features in 12 novels & 20 short stories. Numerous films are made of her adventures, played by many celebrated actresses. Unfortunately, her very popularity has given rise to film  adaptations, which are far from her creator's vision.

Dorothy Sayers also created Harriet Vane but she mostly played second fiddle to her eventual husband, the celebrated Lord Peter Wimsey.

The most famous female detective story writer to appear after "The Golden Age", P.D.James, also created a lady detective Cordelia Gray, who appeared in only two novels. When she is introduced to educated people, they instantly say "Love & be silent", referring to the famous line 61, Scene 1, Act 1 of Shakespeare's "King Lear."!

Glass Ceiling & Crab Mentality

Glass Ceiling generally refers to an invisible barrier preventing the upward mobility of persons belonging to a particular race or gender in an organisation. But it is also curiously present in family circles. Every family has its own priorities & sets of values, not necessarily always the best. But they are as zealously guarded as a family heirloom & members of the family are strongly discouraged to step out of the boundaries, even if by doing so, they may become better & more accomplished & rounded human beings. The Golden rule here is to encourage only those activities which bring wealth or status into the family. Other creative pursuits are firmly discouraged.

One activity towards which attitudes have dramatically changed, is sports. A few decades ago, indulging in sports was considered as a form of vagabondage. Now that a few sportspersons have become wealthy & famous, the attitudes have taken an U-Turn & one can see parents dropping off their children at the sports grounds, even paying hefty coaching fees!  It is not that people have become fond of sports, but only they have become enamoured of the wealth & fame it is expected to bring! (not alas for the majority)

The earlier mentioned family imposed "glass ceiling" has its corollary in the apocryphal story of live crabs in a basket. It is believed that the basket need not be covered with a lid, because if any crab tries to escape, the others pull it down!

St. Joan, Heavy Metal & Bhagavad Gita

Bruno Dumont's 2017 film of the childhood of Joan of Arc is a unique blend of influences. Based on a play by Charles Peguy & featuring an 8 year old Lise Leplat Prudhomme as the young Joan, it is a musical with songs performed in Heavy Metal style.

Even when Joan was a child, working as a shepherdess looking after her father's sheep, she would share her food with the hungry & was worried about the English invasion. Though playing & prancing as befitted her tender years, she was questioning God about the misery of the French. She even shared her doubts about Divine Justice with Sister Gervaise of the convent, who attributed suffering to the human condition. Not entirely satisfied about that view, she prays to God to send a military leader to unite the French (whose King was ineffectual at that time). A vision is vouchsafed to her in which Saints Catherine, Margaret & Michael appear & ask her to take that leadership herself. She did in her teens, drove out the English but was martyred herself.

At the beginning of Bhagavat Gita also, Arjuna seeks to lay down arms against his relatives (& presumably submit to Fate.) But Lord Krishna reminds him of his duty as a military leader & exhorts him to fight for righteousness & defeat his unscrupulous enemies.