चौतारी: प्रेमको सार समर्पण

जनार्दन आचार्य(नेपाल) 23.11.2011आजको दिन भगवान् श्री सत्य साई बाबाले यस धरतीमा मानव रूपमा अवतार लिनुभएको शुभ दिन हो । उहाँको साकार मानव देहले महासमाधि लिइसकेको छ तर उहाँ विश्वका करोडौं भक्तका हृदयमा स्थायी रूपमा स्थापित हुनुहुन्छ । निराकार साई सर्वव्यापक हुनुहुन्छ । श्री सत्य साई बाबाले प्रतिस्थापन गर्नुभएको श्री सत्य साई संगठन एक विराट स्वरूप हो र यो अनन्तसम्म जीवन्त रहनेछ । श्री सत्य साई संगठन एक आध्यात्मिक संगठन हो । यसले गर्ने प्रत्येक कार्य आध्यात्मिक उत्थानमा आधारित हुन्छ । यहाँबाट जेजस्ता कार्य हुन्छन् सबै मानवसेवा र कल्याणका लागि मात्र हुन्छन् । कामको परिमाणभन्दा काम गर्दाको भावलाई महत्त्व दिइन्छ । कार्य गर्दा वा सेवामा संलग्न हुँदाको भाव नै भगवान्को पूजा हो । निःस्वार्थ तथा पवित्र भावले मानवसेवामा संलग्न भई आफ्नो आध्यात्मिक विकास गर्नु नै श्री सत्य साई संगठनको मूल उद्देश्य हो ।

भगवान् श्री सत्य साई बाबा भन्नुहुन्छ, 'गीतामा उल्लिखित भक्तियोग, कर्मयोग, ज्ञानयोग आदि योगको लक्ष्य भक्त र भगवान्लाई जोड्नु हो । सबै योगको एक मात्र लक्ष्य जीवात्मालाई परमात्मासँग मिलन अथवा एकाकार गराउनु हो । यहाँ केही मानिस हठयोग, क्रियायोग र राजयोगप्रति आकषिर्त भएका छन् । उनीहरूको विचारमा मात्र यी योगद्वारा भगवान्सँग साक्षात्कार हुन सकिन्छ भन्ने छ तर सबै योगहरूले हृदय स्वच्छ गर्न र सांसारिक बन्धनबाट मुक्त गर्न मद्दत मात्र गर्ने हो । यी कुनै पनि योगले परमात्माकहाँ पुर्‍याउन सक्दैनन् । प्रेमयोगले मात्र परमात्मासँग मिलन गराउन सक्छ ।'  तसर्थ प्रेमयोग नै साईयोग हो । प्रेमपथ नै साईपथ हो । सत्य, धर्म, शान्ति, प्रेम र अहिंसा नै साईपथ हो । यस पथमा पथिकका लागि कर्म नै पूजा हो र कर्तव्य भगवान् । श्री सत्य साई बाबाको आदर्शपथ यही हो । मानिस कर्मबेगर एक पल पनि रहन

सक्दैन । तिमीले आफ्ना कर्म पनि पवित्र, स्वच्छ, निर्मल, प्रेमपूर्ण र सुवासयोग्य बनाएर भगवान्लाई चढाउनुपर्छ अर्थात् तिम्रो कार्य चोखो, असल र उत्कृष्ट हुनुपर्छ । यस्तो कार्य नै कर्मयोग हो भनी भगवान् श्री सत्य साई बाबाले भन्नुभएको छ । 

बाबा भन्नुहुन्छ, 'गीताले तिमीलाई यस्तै कर्म भगवान्लाई अर्पण गर्न प्रेरित गरेको छ । जब तिमी यस्तै स्वच्छ कर्म कर्ता भावरहित भई निःस्वार्थ भावले भगवान्का चरणमा अर्पण गर्छौ, तिमी सबै कर्म बन्धनबाट मुक्त हुनेछौं । यसलाई नै अनाशक्तियोग भनिन्छ । गीताले तिमीलाई कर्म गर्न प्रोत्साहन मात्र होइन, गरिने कर्म भगवान्लाई अर्पणयोग्य बनाउन पनि प्रोत्साहित गरेको छ । अनाशक्तियोग बुद्धियोगभन्दा पनि कयौं गुना महान् र उच्च छ । तिमीले प्रयास गर्‍यौ भने तिम्रा सम्पूर्ण कर्म अनाशक्तियोगमा परिणत गर्न सक्छौं । बाबा भन्नुहुन्छ, 'प्रत्येक कर्म भगवान्लाई समर्पण गर र प्रत्येक सेवाका अवसरलाई भगवान्को प्रसादका रूपमा ग्रहण गर । यस प्रकारको निःस्वार्थ र आध्यात्मपरक सेवा नै आजको आवश्यकता हो । तिमीहरू यही पथबाट भौतिक अन्नमयबाट विज्ञानमय र त्यसबाट पनि अझ उच्च दैविक आनन्दमय स्थितिमा पुग्नु छ । प्रत्येकको हृदयमा एउटै परमात्मा निवास गर्नुहुन्छ । तसर्थ, निःस्वार्थ प्रेमपूर्वक गरिएको मानवसेवा नै माधव सेवा हो । यसरी गरिएको कर्म नै पूजा हो ।' बाबाका शब्दमा, 'तिमीलाई तोकिएको कार्य वा पेसालाई बोझ नठान, भगवान्को प्रसाद सम्झ । तोकिएको कर्मलाई प्रसन्नता तथा इमानदारीसाथ सम्पन्न गर । प्रेमपूर्वक सम्पन्न गर । तिम्रो कर्म पूजामा परिणत हुनेछ ।' जब हाम्रो मन, वचन र कर्म स्वःस्फूर्त रूपमा प्रेमले ओतप्रोत हुन्छ तब हामी आफूलाई दैवत्वका रूपमा पहिचान गर्न सक्छौं । बाबा भन्नुहुन्छ, 'आज विश्वमा दुष्टता तथा पापकर्मको रोकथाम र विनाश गर्ने सबैभन्दा शक्तिशाली हतियार- प्रेम हो ।'

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CM trip to break ice with Cong OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Nov. 21: Mamata Banerjee will reach Delhi tomorrow on a four-day trip that is being seen as aimed at removing the perception that Trinamul is considering parting ways with the Congress. Today, the Trinamul chief instructed her party leaders to refrain from commenting on yesterday’s Congress panchayati raj convention in Calcutta, where state Congress leaders criticised the ally. Although officially, the chief minister will visit Delhi to take part in the Bengal “State Day” celebrations at the India International Trade Fair on November 24, sources said she would reach two days earlier to “build bridges” with the Congress and also to seek the co-operation of bureaucrats for the development of Bengal. Trinamul sources ruled out the possibility of further escalating the tension with the Congress, saying Mamata was likely to meet the Prime Minister and other key central ministers and make it clear that she was not considering the possibility of pulling out of the UPA government. “Mamata is not going to spoil her relations with the Centre because of the tension with Bengal Congress leaders. Such things happen in politics,” a Trinamul MP said. “The Congress and Trinamul need each other and none would gain anything by precipitating a minor crisis,” he added. The chief minister will organise a dinner for Bengal-cadre IAS officers, including Manmohan Singh’s principal secretary Pulok Chatterjee, and other prominent Bengali bureaucrats in Delhi on Thursday to “seek their assistance” for Bengal’s development. Mamata had organised such dinners as railway minister but Thursday’s event gains significance because of Chatterjee’s inclusion in the guest list.

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Plea to rework tea loan period

 VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Nov. 21: The Darjeeling tea growers have appealed to the Centre to extend the moratorium on the repayment of loan to replant bushes from five to 10 years.

According to the Special Purpose Tea Fund scheme launched by the Union commerce and industry ministry in 2007, growers who want to replant their gardens can get 50 per cent of the total cost as loan. The government gives 25 per cent of the cost as subsidy.

The scheme has provision for a moratorium of five years on the payment of the loans. The planters have to start repaying the loan from the sixth year onwards in eight equal instalments annually.

The planters have said the scheme has very few takers in the hills as the bushes become viable only after 10 to 12 years of replanting.

“In the plains, tea bushes become economically viable within five years. However, in the Darjeeling hills, tea is produced only after 10-12 years of replanting. We want the government to announce a moratorium of at least eight to 10 years to make the scheme attractive for the hill gardens,” Sanjay Bansal, the former chairperson of the Darjeeling Tea Association, told The Telegraph.

The growers have also objected to the mandatory clause of uprooting all bushes that are over 50 years old.

“Unlike the plains where the yield starts to decline after the bush crosses 50 years, the yield of tea bushes in Darjeeling do not decline till it reaches the age of 75 years. This aspect should also be considered by the government,” said Bansal.

The hill planters also objected to the government’s cost estimate for uprooting and replanting bushes.

According the ministry, the total expenditure incurred by the planters in undertaking the exercise would stand at around Rs 3.27 lakh per hectare.

“The calculations are wrong for the Darjeeling industry. The expenditure (of uprooting and replanting) touches the Rs 8 lakh per hectare mark and the government should also revise this figure if it (the scheme) is to be made attractive,” Bansal said.

According to Bansal, the scheme had a target area of 9,000 hectares in Darjeeling.

“Only 12 per cent of the target has been availed by the industry according to the 2010 end figures,” he said.

The DTA had organised a programme here today to hand over a cheque for Rs 20 lakh to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung for the relatives of the Bijanbari bridge collapse victims.

The association also handed over a cheque for Rs 10 lakh to the organisers of the Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival that will start on December 20.

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Rafters stare at job loss - Teesta rapids to drown in dams

RAJEEV RAVIDAS Kalimpong, Nov. 21: More than 300 people eking out a living by operating rafts on the Teesta fear they will lose their income once dam projects on the river are completed next year. The owners and workers of rafting units in Teesta Bazar and Melli said the river would become staid and rapids would disappear upon the completion of the dams. “The NHPC is slated to commission one dam at Rambi in March. The thrill of rafting lies in riding the rapids. Once the rapids are gone, the water will be as staid as that of a lake. People will not be able to experience the thrill any more,” said Roshan Bhujel, the vice-president of the Teesta-Rangeet Raft Owners’ Association. A 10km-long stretch of the Teesta between Labarbote near Melli and 29th Mile is used for the rafting. Apart from the dam at Rambi, another one will come up at Kalijhora, 12km downstream. Rambi is 3km downstream 29th Mile. “Many more dams are being constructed upstream in Sikkim. The entire length of the Teesta will become unsuitable for rafting. We have been voicing our concerns regarding rafting ever since power projects were conceptualised. However, our concerns fell on deaf ears then and even now our pleas are not being heard,” lamented Bhujel. Given the fact that the dams are now a fait accompli, Bhujel said the least the authorities could do was provide them with an alternative source of livelihood. “Although we have taken up the matter with the NHPC and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, no satisfactory response has come from either of them. We are open to the idea of any kind of compensation. That could be in the form of jobs to the educated amongst us or monetary compensation for the loss of business we are certain to suffer from,” he said. Teesta Bazaar and Melli together have 45 to 50 rafts. According to Bhujel, the rafts provide direct employment to about150 people and over 200 villagers benefit indirectly. The rafting season lasts for about nine months from mid-September to May. While NHPC officials could not be reached for their comment, Morcha secretary Roshan Giri said his party was aware of the issue and the future of the villagers would have to be taken care of. “When we first took up the matter, the then NHPC official (at Rambi) had spoken about introducing boating in lieu of rafting. An alternative source of livelihood must be found for the people living off rafting,” he said.

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