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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