यतो धर्मस्र्म ततो जयः
What is past is prologue- Shakespeare
Such as conventions are, these don’t carry us humans far, not far beyond living’s humdrums
where arriving thinking humans could turn time’s tides, the ‘getaways’ to enhancing culture and civilization. It does come to those epochal thresholds on rare occasions in time’s transitions, but that is exception, not rule- as it so goes in conventional human world.
Viewing matters differently involves “Querdenken”, and that is not given to conventions. It’s a high privilege granted to “Querdenkers” that happen to humankind from time to time, say, the Greek Aristotle, Rousseau to French society18th century, Paine to pre 1776 America, Buddha to Indians in the BCE era.
The best ever example regarding above enumeration is the golden one from Dwaparyug, given in the following Bhagavadgita words
YADA YADA HI DHRMSYA GLANIH BHAVTI BHARAT
ABHYUTHANAM ADHARMASYA
TDATMANAM SRIJAMAYAM AHM
The added express purpose is stated too
PRITARANAYE SADHUNAM
VINASHAYE CH DUSHKRITAM
DHARM SANSTHAPANARTHAYE
SMBHAVAMI YUGE YUGE
In the above citation, the phrase SAMBHVAMI YUGE YUGE hands in our hands the exact
precise threshold of time viewing which then we are able to win for ourselves a correct definition of history. All else, it turns out, is Anti History, the opposite of desirable true history. Knowledgeable humans create true history; ignoramuses, in contrast, ANTI HISTORY.
Here is another analogy. A river has its riverine run from mountains to the far away seas. Fine. That’s nature into its water cycles. Notable though is the river’s role in enabling human habitations and eventually culture and civilization flourishes along the river courses.
Now the river runs differently. Now it hosts history, if you please. History that is past, history that is in the making and that emerging, however imperceptibly. That is though convention, much of it anyway. But we are on HISTORYING DIFFERENTLY, the point being to extract true history
definition from the mass of conventional histories, for only so is to arrive at true history stations. Or it is conventions holding on and blemishing human life, on and on and on. That’s no heart
winner, is it?
The past two CE millennia, conventions cursed, are wholesome ANTI HISTORY, not true
history. ‘Ignorant armies clashing by night’ was the running theme throughout. Lo! It still
endures. That’s bad enough, isn’t it?
No doubt this long time has seen humans come far from their primitive origins- as the western scholar is wont to say- yet it has not succeeded in ushering upon earth a sensible human society, if happy human society creating is a far cry still. Convention regards proceedings as history, but “Querdenken” brings to light its ANTI HISTORY character. What has ANTI HISTORY not brought forth that bedevils human living, therefore defeats the very purpose of being human beings- such intelligence equipped as the species is. Regarding ANTI HISTORY run closely and at length brings the Bhagavadgita words to life.
DHARMASYA GLANIH BHAVATI... that is ANTI HISTORY!
Thus, it becomes imperative that we begin to see history differently if we mean it well with human living. A fresh look at HISTORYING DIFFERENTLY is the very first must. That calls for, too, finding a correct definition of history as a subject of academic study. The university must create new knowledge, or be damned.
Saying history is but recording past is like saying the river keeps running to the sea. That
suffices not in understanding the ‘seminal’ life of a river.
It is telling tales without gaining a handle at the whys and hows of happenings- the rationales
and the results and the lessons- as such insufficient take on history. It is living on with ANTI
HISTORY. It is cultivating ignorance in place of standardized knowledge. It’s a bane. Needed
are boons.
But we are interested in true history. Who is not? It takes “Querdenken” to establish the
paradigm. We are, luckily, served a readymade definition as in the cited Bhagavadgita words.
First the run of ANTI HISTORY that brings on epochs during which DHARMASYA GLANIH
BHAVATI... next, then, the DHARAM SANSTHAPANARTHAYE...need of humankind.
It’s a divine complex, naturally, but within that ‘Collosseum’ of time and given the bounds of
human mortality, there is a role assigned to us lesser beings. This role has its own citizenship
weight and dynamic. That’s why it is important that humans have at hand a true definition and
correct understanding of history so they follow history, and don’t fall into the sinister hands of ANTI HISTORY, the case, for example, going for the past two millennia under the leadership of the time’s neophyte West. The world is a stage very much; the Bard had it right with heroes and villains and the villain of the piece. The ongoing third millennium, the devious West still holding the helm, Google and all, is panning out no differently, by the way; it’s only succeeding in making the human condition that worse. Just you wait! AI machination will crown that dubious
glory.
A glance at today’s world and you know it’s fermenting on ANTI HISTORY. No good will come out of this hard labor, however advanced in tech applications. University stands challenged and faculties the more so. Carrying on thoughtlessly with conventions makes no one any wiser; it turns all students kind of donkeys carrying on them back breaking useless weights.
Humans are intelligent beings. They can and they should be able to find a true definition of
history as against the prevailing conventional centred on recording of past. That’s a useless
definition. It does not behove professors, nor it is a laurel on their professionalism head. As
observed before, it will only add to fast filling up, nay, overflowing ANTI HISTORY stores of humankind. Professors and ignorance hand in hand, together? Oh no!
Here is a tip to first understand and then refine a true definition of history. This particular help comes from the great Indian historian, perhaps the greatest ever historian to our recent
historical times, namely Tulsidas. That’s a league all its own with stalwarts such as Valmiki from Tretayug and the one off VedVyas in Dwaparyug. What histories! What historians! The
Smithsonians of today can run for cover with their such patently superfluous ANTI HISTORIES as are in vogue the world over. American Revolution is a splendid example of ANTI HISTORY in action. It began on a revolutionary note- the new age hero on world stage- alas! Only to morph a rogue of humankind, a case of a bad fish muddling waters. It can’t ever have enough of pointless warring. They undid NAZIS only to stand upon human conscience as the next versions, trampling down on all good sense and the finer human sensibility. The show goes on.
Tulsidas wrote out RAMCHARITMANAS which, as popularly known, is the story of the
Vishnuavatar Ram happening in Tretayug. The grandest poet’s words are cited below in support
of need for a true definition of history
JD CHETAN GUUN DOSHMAY
BISW KINAH KRTAAR
SANT HNS GUUN GAHAHIN PAYA
PARIHARI BARI BIKAR
Accordingly, the onus to trace out from confusions true definition of history falls to the share of SANT, “Quesdenker” that is. The metaphor is at once enlightening. The more thoughtful humans just choose the choicest options that will facilitate true history and promote the reestablishment of Dharam- in measures attuned to human skills and capabilities naturally.
Is that too much asked?
It is, going by this vicious grip of ANTI HISTORY on human proceedings.
To break loose from this vicious grip, all good sense damning spell, the first act here in our
Indian domain must be to stop practicing blind faith in western standards in history recording
and teaching; both are dubious. They don’t know much, appearances apart. Our Tulsidas knows far more and far better- for that matter.
We Indians must turn inwards to our own native traditions in HISTORYING. There is no need to conform to substandard western mores. They only create ANTI HISTORY. They are ignorant of the higher echelons of civilization as those better stakes of human life. They don’t know; we know, thanks to our standard Indian Shashtar. Bhagavadgita is the tip of that giant episteme iceberg.
Hence, we are interested in creating history, true history. We are endowed with those extraordinary ‘divinish’ faculties, again thanks to Indian Shashtar. It’s time to decouple our finest faculties from those primitive western, however Harvard Harvard.
That begins with truthful definitions of the subject coupled to extended comprehension of the
Westgeschehen details.
To sum up, true history is that which promotes human happiness and world peace- at the very
top of the hard labours being the need to reestablish Dharam.
True historians are those that lend their hand to the furtherance of the above human need that,
of course, will recur on a divine scale as and when Vishnu avatars all over again. We lesser humans have this ‘meanwhile’ to handle. There we had best focus our attentions as good as we only can on our meager parts in the human drama on our turns of living out our lives.
Any journey begins with a first step. Here then is our first step: we question convention in the matter of history, and at the same time bring up the need to refurbish anew golden standard definitions on the subject with a view to cutting a new trail in true history telling as well as true history building, bidding our good byes then to ANTI HISTORY.
Enough!
Out with ignorance from human ranks! In with epistemology at its very best i.e. episteme, or put fairly and squarely Ved. The West there is a puny mind. We tower over them as does Everest over the lesser mountains around Himalayas. And we state it with authority that belongs in the fitness of things on and about choicest ontology as on life’s philosophy ueberhaupt.
Humans want peace and happiness, not war and unhappiness.
Those who know better are obliged to come forward and lead society.
Querdenkers!
The new time neo-Socrates of humankind.
HM BHI SUKRAT HAIN AHDE NAU KE- Sahir Ludhianvi spoke so the inner truth of our existence.
I couldn’t have ended my ‘rant’ any better than by quoting, as above, the finest enlightened poet of our modern age, the Koios of thoughts and the unrivalled magician of words non pareil: Sahir Ludhianvi.
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