DHARMA CHAKRA
“Patriotism
is a thing of the heart.
A
man is a Patriot if his heart beats true to his country.”
Charles
E. Jefferson
As
we saw the ‘two parades’ in our national capital on this Republic Day…
I wondered: In
which parade did I find myself – the one which I grew up watching at the grand
Rajpath, or the one I was watching, for the first time, now, on the streets of
our capital with a sea of farmers and their tractors?
I wondered: Who
was more patriotic – the one who stood along the Rajpath, or the one who stood
along the rugged streets of our capital?
The consequent
chaos at the Red Fort – and then, the all-familiar ‘blame-game’ – made me
further wonder: Am I a pretentious patriot, or a true one?
I checked if I still
remembered what I was taught, when I was a little boy, to be the meaning and
significance of our tricolour…
The deep saffron
signified strength and courage… It doesn’t matter to which religious faith I
belong. This occupies the topmost space of the tricolour.
The dark green
signifies growth and progress… It doesn’t matter, again, to which faith I
belong. This occupies the bottommost space of the tricolour.
The pristine white
signifies truth and peace… We may include purity, harmony, simplicity
and cleanliness, too. Certainly, this, too, doesn’t ask to which religious
faith I belong. And, this one occupies the space between the deep saffron and the dark green…
And, right at
the heart of all these dwells the ‘Dharma Chakra’ – the navy-blue ‘Wheel of Law’… Yes, the time-tested Ashoka-Chakra
with 24 spokes. Has ‘Dharma’ got anything to do with my religion, or, does it encompass the essence of all
religions and all humanity? Is it, also, not timeless?
I wondered: Why
did Mark Twain say, “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and
your government when it deserves.”?
And, I wondered:
Am I that patriot, as described by another wise soul, “Who can holler the
loudest without knowing what he is hollering about”?
Or, am I that Patriot, who, as George Bernard Shaw described, is driven by the conviction, that my county is superior to all others because I am born in it?
Inside
my heart, I quietly wear the essence of my tricolour. Outside, on my chest, I just wear its symbol…
Yes, I am proud
of my country, its flag and shining ethos… I am a true-blue Patriot. But, I don’t like at all to go around
thumping my chest… about it.
The ‘Dharma
Chakra’ rests, quietly, on the spotless white, you see!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: techicy.com
Video: Berklee College of Music
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