26th January Republic Day of INDIA

26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. In this day India became a totally republican unit. The country finally realized the dream of Father of Nation and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country. So, the 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and has been recognized and celebrated as the Republic Day of India, ever since.

Today, the Republic Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital, New Delhi where the celebrations start with the Presidential to the nation. The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of their country. Then, the President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations.
To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, from the Rajghat, along the Vijaypath. The different regiments of the army, the Navy and the Air force march past in all their finery and official decorations even the horses of the cavalry are attractively caparisoned to suit the occasion. The crème of N.C.C cadets, selected from all over the country consider it an honour to participate in this event, as do the school children from various schools in the capital. They spend many days preparing for the event and no expense is spared to see that every detail is taken care of, from their practice for the drills, the essential props and their uniforms. The patriotic fervor of the people on this day brings the whole country together even in her essential diversity. Every part of the country is represented in occasion, which makes the Republic Day the most popular of all the national holidays of India.

Jumbos are banned in India's Republic Day parade on 26th January 2009:

India has discontinued a 25-year-old tradition by banning the use of elephants at its Republic Day military parade in New Delhi, officials said.
The Defence Ministry, which organizes the January 26 event, decided to do away with the tradition of parading caparisoned elephants owing to security concerns after some "angry" pachyderms caused a scare at the parade last year.
There have also been protests by animal rights activists to bring to an end the hardships faced by the jumbos.
The elephants, a highlight of the parade, used to carry children-winners of the National Bravery Awards. But from this time onwards, the children will be taken on open military jeeps, defence officials said.
"There were serious security concerns after two agitated elephants were almost uncontrollable and caused a near stampede last year. Keeping this in mind, we decided not to take any chances at the huge gathering this time," defence ministry spokesman D Mohanty said.
"Another reason is that for the last four to five years, animal right activists have been demanding a ban, saying the animals were subjected to cruelty of being made to stand and facing cacophony of bands for long hours during the rehearsals," he added.
Elephants are commonly used in India at various fairs and festivals. Elephants have run amok at some of these festivals, particularly in southern India, causing fatalities.
India celebrates January 26 every year as Republic Day to commemorate the day it adopted its constitution in 1950. The day is marked by flag hoisting ceremonies, military parades and cultural pageants across the country.
(news source: http://www.topnews.in/jumbos-banned-indias-republic-day-parade-2110880)

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda

Few quotes of Swami Vivekananda :

1. You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
2. Stick to God! Who cares what comes to the body or to anything else! Through the terrors of evil, say—my God, my love! Through the pangs of death, say—my God, my love! Through all the evils under the sun, say—my God, my love! Thou art here, I see Thee. Thou art with me, I feel Thee. I am Thine, take me. I am not of the world's but Thine, leave not then me.
3. We say that it is freedom that we are to seek, and that that freedom is God. It is the same happiness as in everything else; but when man seeks it in something which is finite, he gets only a spark of it. The thief when he steals gets the same happiness as the man who finds it in God; but the thief gets only a spark with a mass of misery. The real happiness is God. Love is God, freedom is God; and everything that is bondage is not God.
4. We are ever free if we would believe it, only have faith enough. You are the soul, free and eternal, ever free, ever blessed. Have faith enough and you will be free in a minute. Everything in time, space, and causation is bound. The soul is beyond all time, all space, all causation. That which is bound is nature, not the soul. Therefore proclaim your freedom and be what you are?ever free, ever blessed.
5. To acquire freedom we have to go beyond the limitations of this universe; it cannot be found here. Perfect equilibrium, or what the Christians call the peace that passeth under standing, cannot be had in this universe, nor in heaven, nor in any place where our mind and thoughts can go, where the senses can feel, or which the imagination can conceive. No such place can give us the freedom, because all such places would be within our universe, and it is limited by space, time, and causation.
6. Aye, if there is anything in the Gita that I like, it is the two verses, coming out strong as the very gist, the very essence, of Krishna's teaching: 'He who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling alike in all beings, the Imperishable in things that perish, he sees indeed. For seeing the Lord as the same, everywhere present, he does not destroy the Self by the self, and thus he goes to the highest goal.'
7. The Hindu does not want to live upon words and theories. If there are existences beyond the ordinary sensuous existence, he wants to come face to face with them. If there is a soul in him which is not matter, if there is an all-merciful universal soul, he will go to Him direct. He must see Him, and that alone can destroy all doubts. So the best proof a Hindu sage gives about the soul, about God, is — 'I have seen the soul; I have seen God.'
8. Three great gifts we have: first, a human body. Second, the desire to be free. Third, the help of a noble soul who has crossed the ocean of delusion, as a teacher. When you have these three, bless the Lord; you are sure to be free.
9. The mountains of today were the oceans of yesterday and will be oceans tomorrow. Every thing is in a state of flux; the whole universe is a mass of change. But there is One who never changes, and that is God.
10. We have to sense God to be convinced that there is a God. We must sense the facts of religion to know that they are facts. Nothing else, and no amount of reasoning, but our own perceptions can make these things real to us, can make my belief firm as a rock.
11. We cannot add happiness to this world; similarly, we cannot add pain to it either. The sum total of the energies of pleasure and pain displayed here on earth will be the same through out. We just push it from this side to the other side, and from that side to this, but it will remain the same, because to remain so is its very nature. This ebb and flow, this rising and falling, is in the world's very nature; it would be as logical to hold otherwise as to say that we may have life without death.
12. Happiness presents itself before man, wearing the crown of sorrow on its head. He who welcomes it must also welcome sorrow.
13. There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing. Hence, in the Ramakrishna Incarnation, the acceptance of a woman as the guru, hence His practising in the woman's garb and frame of mind, hence too His preaching the Motherhood of women as representations of the Divine Mother.
14. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; think of it; dream of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced.
15. Blame none for your own faults, stand upon your own feet, and take the whole responsibility upon yourselves. Say, 'This misery that I am suffering is of my own doing, and that very thing proves that it will have to be undone by me alone.' That which I created, I can demolish; that which is created by some one else I shall never be able to destroy. Therefore, stand up, be bold, be strong.

12th January - National Youth Day

United Nations declared Year 1985 as “International Youth Year” and during that time our Government declared Swami Vivekananda as The National Youth Leader and his birthday 12th January will be observed as “National Youth Day”. Since then we are observing 12th January as National Youth Day. ........

• We want to lead mankind to the place where there is neither the Vedas, nor the Bible, nor the Koran; yet this has to be done by harmonizing the Vedas, the Bible, and the Koran.
• My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is to preach the mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.
• I belong as much as to INDIA as to WORLD.
• Bold is my message to the WEST but bolder is my message to the EAST my beloved countrymen.
• My idea that can be put into single words-the high ideal Upanishads to translate in to simple English and scattered them through Out the World so that even a child can understand it.
• If there is one word that you find coming like bomb from in the Upanishads, bursting like a bomb-shell upon the masses of ignorance, it is the word, fearlessness.
• Ye are the children of God, the sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings. Ye divinities on earth- sinners! It is sin to call a man so; it is a standing libel on human nature. Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, sprits free, blest and eternals.
• “Men these are wanted, everything else will be ready. But Strong, vigorous, believing young man sincere to the backbone is wanted. A hundred such and the world become revolutionized”.
• Religion is the manifestation of the divinity already in man.
• Religion is the idea which is raising the brute into man, and man into God.
• The secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice. To be good and do good - that is the whole of religion.
• Man is higher than all animals, than all angels; none is greater than man.
• Look at the wall.

UNESCO Announces Indian National Anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' as the Best National Anthem

Indian National Anthem "Jana Gana Mana" written and composed by Rabindra Nath Tagore has been chosen as the World's Best National Anthem by UNESCO.

Jana Gana Mana Written in Sanskritised Bengali, it is the first of five stanzas of a Brahmo hymn composed and scored by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

It was first sung at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress,on 27 December 1911. Jana Gana Mana was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on January 24, 1950. The music for the "current version" is said to be derived from a composition for the song by Ram Singh Thakur, although some dispute this.

A formal rendition of the national anthem takes about forty-eight to fifty-two seconds.

The lyrics of the national anthem is as follows :

Jana gana mana adhināyaka jaya hē

Bhārata bhāgya Vidhātā

Pañjāba Sindhu Gujarāta Marāthā

Drāvira Utkala Banga

Vindhya Himāchala Jamunā Gangā

Ucchala jaladhi taranga

Tava śubha nāmē jāgē

Tava śubha āśisa māgē

Gāhē tava jaya gāthā

Jana gana mangala dāyaka jaya hē

Bhārata bhāgya vidhātā

Jaya hē jaya hē jaya hē

Jaya jaya jaya jaya hē