Nine years ago, on a trip to Japan one of our mentors made a very interesting statement. It was a trip to train at the Bujinkan Hombu1 dojo with some of the senior most teachers in the system. At that time, a lot of us had passed the Sakki2 test to receive the 5th Dan just a few years previously. Many more of our buyu3 passed the test and achieved the 5th Dan during that trip. The 5th Dan is a requisite to receive a “Shidoshi”4 certificate, which is a prerequisite to start teaching the students of the Bujinkan.
During that trip, one of our mentors, Sensei Darren Horvath, said something very interesting. Sensei Darren has always considered the teachings in the dojo as applicable to human life as a whole, and not just as those applicable in a physical altercation.
He said that the achievement of the rank of “Shidoshi” means that the person who achieves this should be able to, in the near term, at least double her or his income, as a result of the learning achieved so far. This was in the context of how the learning from becoming a Shidoshi should lead to a considerable improvement in the quality of life of the Shidoshi. Considering how monetary wealth is vitally important in modern day life, there should be a surplus of it, which allows for other pursuits important to one’s life. It was in light of this opinion that the earlier statement was made.
To put it simply, personal prosperity is supposed to be an outcome of the training put in, to achieve the Shidoshi certification. This could be classified under the personal or self-development that results from training the martial arts. The Sakki test that needs to be passed on the way to a Shidoshi certification requires development of trust in one’s own intuitive abilities. This can also be called mindfulness or awareness of any situation. This development of an individual is expected to help one advance in aspects of life that have nothing to do with physical combat or the martial arts.
As a Hindu and an Indian, the idea of prosperity is an intersection between Budo and Hindu culture that stands out. This idea inspired this post. Personal prosperity (including monetary wealth), as I understand it, is a vital aspect of Hindu culture. One of the Goddesses we routinely pray to is Lakshmi, who is the Goddess of wealth and also the consort of Lord Vishnu. Another divinity, who is not prayed to as much is Kubera, who is considered the God of Prosperity & Wealth. Kubera is also the lord of the Yakshas.
The wealth of Kubera represented by his loan to the wedding of Lord Venkateshwara. Image credit – “Venkateshwara Taanada Chitragalu”, published by Pioneer Publications
In a previous article of mine, I had shared a sutra* from the Arthashastra, one line of which says “Dharmasya moolam arthaha”. This means that “artha”, or wealth, is the root of Dharma. Wealth is vitally important for Dharma to exist and permeate all walks of life. Dharma, as I understand it, is “that which sustains”. This means that Dharma is doing what needs to be done to sustain a good life. This is why Dharma is sometimes referred to as “doing the right thing” or “doing the best thing possible in a given situation”. Thus, wealth, or prosperity, is very important for a good life by doing the right things. Personal prosperity is the root!
One symbol of prosperity in India, since a very long time, is the elephant. This is perhaps because people or institutions who owned an elephant(s) in India were prosperous, for owning an elephant was expensive, not to mention maintaining several of them. One of the eight forms of Devi Lakshmi is titled, “Gaja Lakshmi”, where Gaja means an elephant. The elephant is associated with Lakshmi as she is the Goddess of Wealth/Prosperity, and the elephant is a symbol of the same.
A representation of the arrangement during the celebration of Aane Habba (Elephant Festival)
15th of December, 2024 was celebrated as “Aane Habba” or “The Elephant Festival”. The date of the festival changes every year as it is based on the Tamil Solar calendar. This is a festival specific to my community and not a festival that is widely observed in India, or elsewhere. But the day on which the Aane Habba is celebrated is observed variously by different Hindu communities. The day on which the festival falls is the Poornima (full moon day) of the Kartika month according to the Tamil Solar calendar. It is an auspicious time and hence is celebrated under different names by different groups.
Devi Lakshmi on the white elephant above
One of these is “Kiru Deepavali” or “Little Diwali”. Another is “Vishnu Deepam”. Yet another festival that occurs a day or two earlier is “Karthigai Deepam”
The Kartika month itself is very important for historical reasons. The “Bali Jatra” festival happens in the state of Odisha during this month. Historically this was the beginning of the voyage from India to South East Asia (Bali in particular) for trade. Bali Jatra is associated with the Kartika Poornima festival. This occurred on 15th November in 2024. This voyage generated enormous wealth historically for the merchants involved and for the nations along the coast. This is the Poornima based on the Lunar calendar, hence the difference in the date of the festival.
The Aane Habba itself is specifically celebrating the elephant, which is another way of saying that we celebrate prosperity and wish for more of it, and in perpetuity. This specific aspect of the festival brings us back to the same idea in Budo which I started with. The notion of personal prosperity seems vitally important, if one is a Hindu. The same idea being reflected as an objective for Budo practice, makes it a wonderful reason to train the same. 😊
In my previous post, I had given an introduction to this series and defined some basic concepts that will be revisited time and again during this series. From this post onward, I will expand on the 4 aspects mentioned as the physical aspects of the Bujinkan. These are seen in the screenshot below from the previous post. The first of these is highlighted in the image below, and is the focus of this article.
The first thing anyone learns when they start training the Bujinkan is the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki. This is roughly translatable as “A scroll of the principles of Heaven, Earth and Man”. As the name suggests, this has three parts, the Ten, the Chi and the Jin. Each of these individually are as mentioned below.
Ten Ryaku no Maki – The scroll of the principles of Heaven
Chi Ryaku no Maki – The scroll of the principles of Earth
Jin Ryaku no Maki – The scroll of the principles of Man (who is supposedly a conduit between Heaven and Earth)
The absolute basic learning from the Bujinkan and root of self-preservation is from the Ten Ryaku no Maki. This part is all about learning about oneself and one’s position in space in relation to the opponent. The Chi Ryaku no Maki is about learning about the opponent and how to affect the body of the opponent in various ways. The Ten Ryaku no Maki is about putting the learning from the Ten and the Chi sections together in various combinations and potential attack combinations (without weapons).
Ten Ryaku no Maki
The key learnings from the Ten Ryaku no Maki are, in my opinion, the following.
Kamae – This section teaches one the various postures that the body might generally need to take to protect oneself and then initiate an attack, if necessary. It specifically focuses on the legs, their angles and weight distribution between the two. The hand positions are also taught, but these are less important compared to those of the legs. This is the case as the Bujinkan is all about movement and this is effected by the legs (even if not initiated by them). This movement aspect is emphasized in the Taihenjutsu aspect of the Bujinkan. We will look at this in a later post of this series.
Representative kamae. Sketches by Vishnu Mohan.
Ukemi – This section teaches one how to receive the ground when one falls or has to move with a low posture in an efficient manner. This means how to roll effectively, and fall, with minimal or no pain and injury. This becomes important when one realizes that she or he will fall and get thrown during training, and maybe even during a real situation involving a fight. Protecting oneself in such a situation, not just the opponent but from the ground, is important to learn and experience.
Representative ukemi flow. Sketches by Vishnu Mohan.
Uke Nagashi – This section is about receiving an attack from an opponent, a human being. One might be attacked in various ways by one or more attackers, with fists, elbows, shoulders, knees, feet, legs, fingers, head butts, grabs from all directions, chokes, joint locks, nails, teeth, throws and any other, or a combination of these. The ways to receive these attacks to nullify the objective of the attack and to do so with minimal physical harm is the objective of this section. It involves, getting out of the line of attack, and getting the right protective posture with the right angle and height to stay as safe as possible against the given attack. Of course, this is not a static or one time activity, but a dynamic aspect to be practiced all through the fight. The objective here is to stay safe, not win a fight. When we say receive, it includes, absorbing, blocking, deflecting, countering, and evading an attack (A, B, C, D, E as defined in the scroll 😊). So, this includes what is also sometimes called a “parry” to an attack.
Kihon Happo and San Shin no Kata – These two segments teach a practitioner how to move in relation to the opponent after the Uke Nagashi is executed. This initiates a practitioner in the basic ways in which one counterattack an opponent. They also expand on the application of the Uke Nagashi in different angles and directions. The ways to move in relation to an opponent include, forward, backward, right, left and from the same spot, but with a lower stance or height. These also include how to rotate around a specific joint of the opponent, like the wrist or the elbow and affect her or him with that movement. Further, the ways to attack while moving forward, backward and twisting on the same spot are also explored.
Thus, the learning from the Ten Ryaku no Maki is about receiving the ground in the best manner possible (Ukemi), using the correct posture (Kamae) to receive an attack from an opponent (Uke Nagashi) and efficient ways to move in relation to the opponent to mitigate the attack (Kihon Happo and San Shin no Kata).
Representative detail of a movement from the San Shin no Kata. Sketches by Vishnu Mohan.
There are additional segments in the Ten Ryaku no Maki which teach practitioners about the various parts of their own body they can use to strike the opponent and the points of the body which when struck cause pain (pressure points or weak points). Conversely, this also means learning which part of the body an opponent can use to attack and which parts of oneself, when struck, cause more pain, and thus need to be protected. This is the origin of the thought process related to “self-protection” and a realization of the need for the other segments in the Ten Ryaku no Maki. It also initiates a practitioner into the idea of how to begin evasion from an attack and therefore start the process of escape.
Chi Ryaku no Maki
This second part of the Ten Chi Jin is about the various ways to cause trouble to the opponent. In the Ten Ryaku no Maki the focus was all about moving the feet and legs, and consequently the lower half of the body. But now, the focus is on the entire body as one unit. Practitioners learn to move the upper body in conjunction and in unison with the lower body to pull off various moves to inconvenience opponents. This is where key features like keeping the hips and shoulders parallel, the back straight and not bending, to keep one’s balance even while sinking low with the legs, are focused on and drilled into students.
Representative form for one of the kicking options. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
The principles learnt relating to Ukemi, Uke Nagashi, Kamae, the Kihon Happo and San Shin no Kata are added to and the movements which cause opponents to lose balance, feel pain, fall over and get injured, if not worse, are learnt.
Due to this objective of the Chi Ryaku no Maki, the segments in this part of the Ten Chi Jin include, throwing opponents, joint locks, choking techniques and ways to kick opponents in the most effective manner to break their balance. Also included here are the ways to break an opponent’s hold on the arms or the upper body (bear hugs, choke attempts, nelson holds) and the ability to keep an opponent pinned (or locked) by applying pressure and causing pain at specific pressure points. Of course, this is after an opponent has been thrown or dropped to the ground due to a combination of joint locks, throws, hits and kicks.
Representative form for one of the throwing options. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
Jin Ryaku no Maki
Simply put, the following is roughly true.
Jin Ryaku no Maki = Ten Ryaku no Maki + Chi Ryaku no Maki
Or more colloquially put, Jin = Ten + Chi (J = T + C)
Ten Ryaku no Maki is about learning about oneself and ways to protect the same. Chi Ryaku no Maki is about learning about the opponent and ways to cause trouble to the same. The two, when put together, form a complete fight (attack & counter) scenario and so, with set forms, practitioners can explore the various ways to apply what has been learnt in the Ten and Chi parts of their study.
Representative kata. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
Students can move as taught in the Ten and apply the principles of the Chi to defeat or mitigate the attack by an opponent. To allow a basic structure that practitioners can use to expand their knowledge and experience of the Bujinkan, set forms or Kata are described. These are recommendations and not set in stone. The basic attacks that are defined are fairly comprehensive though, and include defence against fist attacks, kicks, throws, arm and upper body grabs. These also include combination attacks, which include any or many of those mentioned previously. There is also a set of forms that allows for the exploration defence when attacked while sitting down.
The defence against the set attack forms are taught to students and it is explained how variations and other ways of these defences can be applied as required by the situation. This aspect of permitted variations is the beginning of the practitioners exploring their own strengths and weaknesses based on their physical abilities and lack of the same. It is also where students hopefully begin to realize they are learning an art form and not a precise science. This realization hopefully brings on the epiphany that in a real fight, they can and need to apply their experience however needed and there is no “defined” defence due to the many variables that are involved in life.
Representative kata. Sketches by Keane Amaral.
The Ten, Chi and Jin Ryaku no Maki are not necessarily learnt exclusively or linearly. They are learnt at the same time to show that the three parts are dependent on each other, though in the grading system that might be used in different Dojos, students might be expected to know the difference. This is to enable the development of an intellectual structure apart from a physical one, which enables students to add to their physical vocabulary ably aided by an intellectual one. Also, the Ten Chi Jin is something that practitioners of the Bujinkan revisit all through their life, or at least as long as they train this martial art. Each revision is likely to have fresh revelations and add nuances to their martial repertoire. This key feature of the TCJ is why its knowledge and experience are key to the awarding of a Black Belt to a student. Also, the achievement of a Black Belt is when a practitioner is accepted as a serious student.
In the next article, I will expand on the 9 schools that make up the Bujinkan system of martial arts.
I am ending the post with something I posted at the beginning of the previous one. Seen below is the reason I am posting this series of articles. This segment will be present at the end of each of the posts in this series, just as a reiteration.
The purpose of this series of posts is multi fold. Firstly, it is a resource I can share with people who are not practitioners of the martial arts. Like most of us, a majority of the people we interact with do not practice any form of martial art. Sharing ideas and practices about martial arts might require some “first principles” like definitions, overarching themes and ideas and objectives of the art form. Hopefully this series will be that resource.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for me to look back at my own thoughts about the Bujinkan. The thoughts are a document I can refer in the future to see if I think differently.
Lastly, practitioners of the Bujinkan who are relatively new to the system and longtime practitioners who might need a look back at aspects from earlier years could use this as a starting point for further discovery. There are several practitioners and Sensei of the Bujinkan with a lot more experience compared to me, who share content about the art form and the system. I strongly recommend that everyone consume the content from those sources. This series is possibly an index to search further in those sources.
So, this series in not a deep dive, more like a primer of my thoughts with scope for expansion in each. Most importantly, whatever knowledge can be gleaned from this series is a conversation starter or direction pointer at best; it does not in any way replace actual training in a dojo with fellow budoka and a teacher who can help one progress.
The purpose of this series of posts is multi-fold. Firstly, it is a resource I can share with people who are not practitioners of the martial arts. Like most of us, a majority of the people we interact with do not practice any form of martial art. Sharing ideas and practices about martial arts might require some “first principles” like definitions, overarching themes and ideas and objectives of the art form. Hopefully this series will be that resource.
Secondly, it is an opportunity for me to look back at my own thoughts about the Bujinkan. The thoughts are a document I can refer in the future to see if I think differently.
Lastly, practitioners of the Bujinkan who are relatively new to the system and longtime practitioners who might need a look back at aspects from earlier years could use this as a starting point for further discovery. There are several practitioners and Sensei of the Bujinkan with a lot more experience compared to me, who share content about the art form and the system. I strongly recommend that everyone consume the content from those sources. This series is possibly an index to search further in those sources.
So, this series in not a deep dive, more like a primer of my thoughts with scope for expansion in each. Most importantly, whatever knowledge can be gleaned from this series is a conversation starter or direction pointer at best; it does not in any way replace actual training in a dojo with fellow budoka and a teacher who can help one progress.
The Bujinkan is a martial art system of Japanese origin. Martial arts, as I see it, are about two things. These are self-preservation and conflict management.
Of these two, self-preservation is the grittier, ancient, down to earth aspect of the martial arts. It is more relevant in situations of physical conflict where bodily harm is likely. Of course, bodily harm can lead to psychological and emotional harm as well. But the self-preservation aspect applies first to the physical aspect and to everything else next.
Conflict management is more relevant in all aspects other than physical conflict with potential bodily harm. Simply put, this is more relevant in day-to-day life in contemporary structured societies. This is because we humans cannot resort to physical violence to resolve, or deal with, most conflicts that we encounter in life. And due to this nature of modern living, the psychological and emotional aspects of martial arts are as important as the physical aspect. In fact, these take precedence in many situations. In my opinion, “Martial Arts” is a synonym for “Conflict Management”.
There are two points to clarify with respect to the above paragraphs. The first is that I use the term “conflict management” instead of “conflict resolution” because I feel a resolution is a special case of management or a potential outcome of the management. Even if it is the desired option, management focuses on what needs doing irrespective of whether it leads to a resolution or not.
The second point relates to the physical and emotional/psychological aspects. Many a time, we hear the terms, “mind over matter” and “matter over mind”. Neither of these is specific to either a physical consideration of the martial arts or the emotional/psychological aspects of the same. Both could apply in both interpretations/manifestations of the martial arts.
The physical aspects of the Bujinkan are the following.
Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki
The 6+1+2 schools = The 5 styles of fighting
The Kuden which includes the themes of the year and the other concepts taught while applying the TCJ & the schools (this is the largest part and also the hardest to document).
The various weapons and their use, and their use with the learning from the schools and the concepts mentioned in the previous point.
The psychological and emotional aspects include –
The TCJ and concepts stemming from the historicity of the schools
The weapons and their use (weapons here include all things in life – tools, tech, networks, people, societal behaviour, culture, customs and traditions, work culture).
The Kuden and their teachings (themes of the year and all other soke sayings in class, and their interpretations of the many senior practitioners the world over).
Eventually come the adding or layering of concepts and learnings from one’s own culture, like Hindu/Hinduism (in my case) or any other (philosophy, spirituality, traditional stories, historical personalities and other examples).
Lastly are the experiences from one’s own life, from work, relationships, hardships, pain, loss, conflicts, and the interaction of these points. These are opportunities to apply the learnings from all other points.
Each of the above 9 points will have posts of their own. I will elucidate further on each, as I understand it at this point in life. At various stages of this happening, we will be turning back to look at the self-preservation and conflict management aspects as well. Also, it is likely that other martial art systems have their own versions of the above 9 points.
As I age further, gain more experience in life, my understanding on some or all of these points might change, or they might not. This document is a snapshot of this moment in my budo life, not a documentation of my entire experience. And oh yes! It is not human to be consistent, so do not expect it. 😛
Self-preservation has three components, as I currently understand it. These are –
Intuition
Self-protection
Evasion (includes escaping a situation)
I use the word self-protection and not self-defence deliberately. Self-defence is a commonly used term with reference to the martial arts. It is fairly likely that every practitioner of the martial arts has been either asked about or assumed to be training the same for developing “self-defence skills”.
I personally do not know if self-defence is ever possible. All self-defence concepts and techniques are developed and have origins based on situations experienced by people over time. While it is probable that the these are likely to work in quite a few cases, it need not do so in all cases. This is because, no situation which has been considered to develop a defence against, needs to necessarily ever occur with anyone else, who has learnt the same. So, applying techniques or concepts learnt to survive a specific situation might not work in a different situation, as the same situation almost never occurs twice or with two different individuals.
Also, consider the words “defence” and “protection”. We never use the word “defence” with respect to the elements. We do not say “defend yourself against the wind”. We say, “protect yourself from the wind”. This holds true with the rain or the sun as well. This is because a defence is against something, while protection is from something. Defence is against an attack, and hence has to happen after or during the act. But protection is at all times (not a reaction to a situation); you are prepared for an adverse situation, not waiting for it to happen. A more mundane example would be wearing a helmet while driving a bike. We do not wear it against an accident, we wear it to protect ourselves if ever there is an accident.
A modern day helmet used with vehicles
This is the same with the martial arts (the Bujinkan in this case. One trains self-protection and not self-defence. One cannot expect a technique learnt to work in a situation, instead one trains concepts and techniques to be able to survive an adverse situation at best and get away with minimal physical injury at worst. Of course, there will be emotional, intellectual, and spiritual injuries as well, that surface after the survival, which need to be protected against as well. These injuries occur in daily life to many people routinely, without any physical attack being present.
A representative Samurai helmet
With the difference between defence and protection out of the way, let us look at how protection works. The first step to protection is to be ready. And readiness starts with awareness. “Awareness” as I use the term, is a synonym for “mindfulness”. This means you are able to be aware of your surroundings, the atmosphere of a space and the feeling it gives you. This might seem like a lot of work, and it is, until after a lot of training, when it hopefully becomes second nature.
This does not mean you are James Bond or Jason Bourne. It is not about over doing wariness or working hard to study one’s surroundings. It means one trains to develop one’s innate instincts to be able to perceive a threat (not determine it). If a threat is perceived, do anything needed to get out of the space without any need to second guess oneself. There is no need to look for or wait for evidence of the perceived threat.
With the above observation of awareness, I hope I have established that “Intuition” is key to self-protection. This ability to develop and trust one’s intuition is called “Sakkijutsu” in the Bujinkan system of martial arts. Sakkijutsu is not magic, it is a consequence of training the Bujinkan (or maybe other martial art systems as well), life experience and wisdom achieved as a combination of the two. Also, this is not specific to physical threats either, it can be an ability to perceive coming troubles at work, in a relationship, in traffic, in the wilderness or any other situation.
The entire notion of Sakkijutsu hinges on the notion that waiting for the physical attack or any other problem to commence is already too late to begin action to protect oneself. Protective measures must have already begun when the problem begins to manifest. Consider it as having worn a raincoat while driving a two-wheeler just as a downpour begins because you saw a cloudy sky, or a weather forecast app told you it would rain. This is better than finding shelter to park under before you get the raincoat out of your bag.
This might sound a little like the “Spidey sense” that Spiderman demonstrates. But “intuitive abilities” are not magic, just a normal human ability. In the comic, this ability is a “super-sense”, as a consequence of being a superhero. But in the real world, Sakkijutsu is a consequence of human evolution and individual training/experience.
A comic book page describing one of Spider-Man’s superhero abilities. This is NOT Sakkijutusu! Image credit – “Spider-Man: The Secret Story of Marvel’s World-Famous Wall Crawler” published by Marvel Comics
Sakkijutsu is a fundamental tenet of the Bujinkan system as I understand it. But it is not part of the basics that one trains or learns from the first few training sessions. It is something that is learnt over years of training; it cannot be taught in the conventional methods. So, it is part of the fundamentals, but an advanced concept (not a technique) nevertheless.
I am not writing this article, or the series, in a strictly linear manner as might have been observed. Intuition was the first point, but I started with a discussion on self-protection, and then moved on to an advanced concept which I mentioned as a fundamental tenet. I will be doing this back-and-forth multiple times as we go further in this series as well.
The third part of self-preservation trio is evasion. If there is an attack or a threat, evasion is the obvious thing to do, to prevent or at least mitigate any physical harm. Evasion simply means getting out of the line of the immediate attack or not being in the place where the attack is going to have maximum impact. This can happen due to, along with, or lead to self-protection. So, these two concepts are intricately linked. The learning of the basics of the Bujinkan which we will look at in greater detail further in this series will hopefully elucidate this symbiosis better.
A key point when I mention “self-preservation” is the word “self”. Your training may not necessarily help you protect those with you at the time of the attack, except if your intuition allows you to get them away from the place where the attack might happen, before it happens (yes, it does sound like “luck”).
With that introduction out of the way, let us look at the training of the physical aspects of the Bujinkan in greater detail, starting with the next post in this series.
In martial arts around the world, wood is used a lot for practice weapons. These days weapons made of various polymers like nylon and polypropylene have started to replace wood as the material of choice for practice weapons. But this is not ubiquitous yet. In India, we almost never get training weapons made of anything but wood. It is too expensive due to a lack of demand. Polymer weapons need to be imported, again resulting in great costs. So, wood it is for us for now.
Recently we had a batch of wooden training weapons made and that is where the idea for this article came from. Wood comes from trees. And trees and plants have always played a major role in cultures all over the world from times immemorial, as weapons of both offence and defence. Trees are present in modern day speculative fiction, everyday news and in daily conversations as well. But I have never heard of a “Way of the Tree”.
Let us consider the presence of trees in stories from our tradition, myths from extinct religions, pop culture and modern day conversations.
One the most popular fantasy series of recent times is “The Wheel of Time” written by Robert Jordan and later by Brandon Sanderson. In the series there is a community of nomadic people called “The Traveling people” or “Tuatha’an”. This community follows what is called the “The Way of the Leaf”. It is a completely pacifistic way of living with absolutely no violence at all. This people reminds me of some Jain groups in India, who also follow a way living which abhors violence of all sorts.
An opposite of “The Wheel of Time” is “A Song of Ice & Fire” written by George R R Martin. In this series there is a kind of tree called a Weirwood. This tree is partially magic and has human faces carved into it. These trees might have a hive mind and also accept sacrifices, including human sacrifices!
Who can forget the Huorns and Ents in the Lord of the Rings! The Huorns are literally trees that move! In numbers, they are a forest that moves like an army. And the Ents are called shepherds of the forest, though in my opinion, they are like Generals to the Huorns.
In Norse mythology, mistletoe is a weapon. It is used to kill the God Baldur.
The plant Sanjeevini is used as a medicine in the Ramayana, to save Lakshmana from a weapon deployed by Indrajit (Meghanath), the son of Ravana.
Plant and tree produce are used for healthcare in India, as seen in the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda.
There are Gods for wine-making in many cultures. In old Vedic rituals, sacred Soma or Somarasa, which is believed to be an intoxicating drink made from a plant, is used.
I am a Hindu, and trees are all over our culture. We celebrated the festival of Dasara (Dussehra) a few weeks ago. On the last day (10th day) of the Dasara festival, which is Vijayadashami, a tree takes centre stage. The Banni or Shami tree is worshipped on this day. “Banni Mara” is the name in Kannada and “Shami Vruksh” is the name in Hindi. Both of these supposedly refer to Prosopis Cineraria.
Shami/Banni leaves given as “prasada” after a pooja on the occasion of Vijayadashami
In a lot of folklore in India, ghosts are associated with the Banyan tree. On the positive side, trees are worshipped during marriage ceremonies by some communities. The Peepal tree, called the “Ashwath Mara” in Kannada receives prayers by womenfolk during a marriage ceremony. Of course, the Buddha is supposed to have achieved enlightenment under a Peepal tree. This specific tree was called the Bodhi tree.
Social gatherings under Peepal trees were important for local discussions in India and hence the place under the tree was called a “Katte”, which is the Kannada word for a platform where people can sit and discuss. This was specifically called the “Ashwath Katte” or the “Peepal Platform”! Literally a platform for people under the Peepal! Sandalwood is used to make a paste, called “Chandana” and is offered to Gods. This is also applied on the neck of devotees after the offering, as a blessing from the Gods.
A Peepal tree
If we consider martial aspects, we can go back to the Ramayana. The bow used by Lord Rama was called the “Kodanda”. I have heard that a bow made of bamboo was called “Kodanda”. The bow of Rama was supposed to have three curves, in other words, it was a recurve bow made of bamboo. Just to expand on this point, consider the bow of Lord Vishnu. It is called the “Shāranga”. “Shāranga” is supposed to mean “horn”. So, the bow of Vishnu was made of animal horns. So, does that mean that Vishnu used a composite bow? I am not sure. I am basing this on the fact that when horn is used a material for a bow, it is usually a composite bow where sinew, glue and other materials are used to make the bow.
Representative image of Lord Rama with his bow, “Kodanda”. Image credit – “The Ramayana” published by Amar Chitra Katha.
There is a martial art with its origins in the modern day state of Tamil Nadu, called “Silambam”. The main weapon used in Silambam is a staff made of bamboo or rattan. I have seen it said that Silambam literally means “a staff of bamboo” or a “staff from the hills” which again refers to bamboo. And if the staff is not made of bamboo, it is made of a wood from different trees. There is a martial art called “Lathi Khela”, which focuses specifically on fighting with a staff. This martial art is famous all over the country.
Staff fighting is present in multiple martial art forms originating in India. Even as late as the 19th and early 20th century, the staff was the weapon of the enforcers employed by Landlords or Zamindars. These Zamindars used the enforcers for rent seeking and are considered “villains” in contemporary thinking. The staff is called a “Lathi” and the people who used the staff were called “Lathaith”.
Of course, staff fighting is popular all over the world. From the knobkerrie or rungu used in parts of Africa to the shillelagh in Ireland to the bo in Japan, staffs of various lengths are used in fighting all the time. Robin Hood fighting Little John is a popular story and in modern fantasy there is Matrim Couthon in the Wheel of Time series, who can defeat swordsmen with a quarterstaff.
If we consider defensive weaponry, armour made of fabric, like layers of cotton and the billowing cape used by Japanese cavalrymen to protect against a single arrow are well known examples. A cloth turban to protect the head was present in historical India. Another form of protection is the shield. Shields made of wicker were present in historical China while wooden parrying sticks were used in parts of Africa.
We can even use trees in a metaphorical or philosophical sense to expound on martial concepts.
Training the martial arts is a long term activity. It takes years of training to achieve mastery over the forms. It takes even longer to develop the expertise needed to share the knowledge / experience / wisdom gained. It requires commitment and passion for the art form. Conviction is also needed in the benefits of practice of the martial art to motivate an individual to keep at it.
This is not unlike the life of a tree. A tree takes years to grow, especially the large trees, which create a sense of awe in anyone who beholds them. Some trees live for over a thousand years! They grow from a seed or kernel or acorn into a sapling into a small tree into a giant of epic proportions. A great tree is a treasure because of the sheer time it has taken to get there, which could be centuries if not years! This is not unlike the time taken to master the martial arts, scaled down to a human lifetime of course.
Also consider the numbers game in the martial arts and trees in their early life. A very small fraction of all the students who start training reach the higher levels of any martial art. I am not sure if anyone has carried out a study on this, but a popular saying in the dojo I train with, is that less than 1% of all the students who walk into the dojo last for 10 years. Consider the trees now. How many seeds or saplings survive to grow into the giants we see? It is supposed to be a small fraction again, especially in the tropics where the evergreen forests cut-off most of the sunlight from ever reaching the ground. The fight for light space for a sapling on the forest floor in the tropics is same as the effort it takes a student to make time to practice the martial arts.
Another way of looking at this is the manner in which a forest, through its trees, reclaims land which was inhabited by humans for ages, even with monumental construction. There is the famous photo of the ruins in Cambodia, where the tree has literally taken over what was formerly a human dwelling. This is like sustained siege warfare, that is never let up! The trees are always there, surviving, waiting for an opening to take back what was likely lands they once occupied.
The above two images show trees taking over abandoned settlements at Ta Prohm in Cambodia. Image credit – My cousins
This is like incessant training, making time however possible. It is also like surviving against opponents without trying to win, only focusing on self-protection and self-preservation. Maybe an opening will appear in time, to mitigate the threat of the opponent. One of the senior most teachers in the Bujinkan system of martial arts, Nagato Sensei has a saying which is very popular. He says, “Leave no opening”. This saying of his has actually been put on training t-shirts! 🙂
What Sensei means by his statement, as I understand it, is that one should focus on first ensuring that one has moved to a position against an attack that fully protects oneself. There should be no opening the opponent can exploit or an opportunity to further the attack without revealing an opening in himself or herself. Unless this is achieved, looking to counterattack is counterproductive, as that might in turn give the opponent more opportunities for further attacks.
The above statement by Nagato Sensei is beautifully exemplified by how trees exploit gaps in masonry! If a sapling is not removed in the early stages when it is spotted on masonry, it can go on to crack walls over time and even spread its roots through pipes laid down for wires and plumbing.
Consider how saplings spring up with rains and sunlight in places where there is no soil at all! On concrete terraces with a little debris or construction waste. They are always there, looking for openings and opportunities to grow. This is akin to surviving a fight and to finding time and space to train. It could also be considered a metaphor in negative terms. Could the springing up of saplings on construction waste be more like the retinue of students who pass through a dojo? Like the many that are never really able to stick around to achieve any useful training? After all, a lot of the saplings that spring up are like weeds that do not last very long. Either way, “The Way of the Tree” seems a fine metaphor for the martial arts.
A representation of how flora reclaims gaps in masonry and construction debris.
There are several ways in which the martial arts are described. This includes the martial art systems as a whole, specific forms, weapons used in the art forms and the metaphors used to describe the martial arts as a whole. Top of mind to me for these descriptors are usually reminiscent of animals or geography (including metals, rocks and such), but not really based on flora, either trees or plants. Consider the following examples.
The animal forms of Shaolin Kung Fu have been made famous by the Kung Fu Panda franchise. The Tiger style, Snake style, Monkey style, Crane style, Eagle style, Mantis style are well known.
Metaphors of natural forces like water and wind are also well known, like “flow like water around your opponent”. Responding to the situation metaphorically becomes “water takes the shape of the container”. In India, strength is associated with Vayu, the God of Wind. Vayuputras (sons of the God of the Wind) Bhima and Hanuman are the epitome of strength and martial prowess.
There are representations of metals related to martial prowess as well. Consider Excalibur, which combines metal and water to bestow greatness, which includes martial skill. Another example is the “Sword of Mars” wielded by Attila the Hun. This sword is supposed to have been made of meteor iron and a marker of greatness. Of course, Attila was a great warrior king as well.
Coming to pop culture, in the world of Conan the Cimmerian (Barbarian) written by Robert E Howard and brought to life famously by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is “the riddle of steel”. Again, a metal exemplifies the martial skill embodied by Conan. Even in the world famous “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”, dedication to the martial arts is called “The Iron Way” due to how hard it is and the sacrifices it supposedly entails.
There are examples of trees and plants used, but a lot fewer, and none in pop culture as I can recall. In the Bujinkan, one of the schools studied is the “Takagi Yoshin Ryu”. The name of this school translates to “School of the Weeping Willow”. Here the willow tree is representative of being flexible yet strong. I opine that it is apt, because the Takagi Yoshin Ryu is an expression of jutaijutsu. Jutaijutsu, as I understand it, could be considered a super set that also includes, wrestling, judo, malla yudha, kushti etc. All of these martial arts do need flexibility and strength.
The first 2 techniques trained with the kunai also have tree based names, though not very representative of the martial style as a whole. The first technique is called “Kiri no hito ha” which translates to “cutting the paulownia leaf”. The second technique is called “Rakka” which translates to “falling petals”!
Beyond the above examples, other plant or tree based names and metaphors in the martial arts escape me at this time, at least as “top of mind” examples. If anyone is aware, do share the same with me. This seems strange to me, considering how ubiquitous trees are in our lives. It seems strange that there is no “Way of the Tree” in the martial arts. Is it likely that we might have such a system in the future? Perhaps, as I have tried to make the case for one above.
Considering the importance of the Peepal tree for us Indians, we once had a Bujinkan training t-shirt that had an image of a Peepal tree leaf on it.
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
In my community, Deepavali used to be a 5 day festival until electric water boilers and modern plumbing became commonplace. That would mean the 1970s and 1980s and even the 1990s in many Indian cities. One can add modern transportation to the mix here. This is something I have heard from my parents and grandparents.
We all know of Deepavali being a 3 day festival. The first day is Naraka Chaturdashi, the second day is Amavāsya (not a festival, more like connective tissue between 2 festivals) and the third day is Bali Pādyami. This nomenclature and observance of course, is specific to my community. Every community could observe the days of the Deepavali with different festivals. The number of days celebrated as part of Deepavali could also be different among different groups of people. I am just sticking to what I know with respect to my own community.
So, I mentioned 3 days of the festival. What are the other 2 days celebrated as? Also, the 3 days I mentioned are the second, third and fourth days in the five day festival. Naraka Chaturdashi being day 2, Amavāsya day 3 and Bali Pādyami day 4. Day 1, the first day, was celebrated as “Neeru Tumbō Habba”. Day 5, the last day, was celebrated as “Varsha Todaku”. As I understand these two festivals today, they are both “trick festivals”. Let me elucidate further, starting with the “Neeru Tumbō Habba”.
“Neeru” means “water” in Kannada. “Tumbō” means “filling” or “to fill” in the same language. The filling here is like one fills a vessel or a bucket with water. “Habba” means “festival”, again in Kannada. So “Neeru Tumbō Habba” in Kannada means, “Water filling festival”. Now come the questions, why and where should water be filled and why is this “filling” a festival?
Remember that I stated early on that this was a festival at a time before modern plumbing and electric water heaters were common in Indian homes? This is the key to this festival. Naraka Charurdashi celebrations started early in the day. This required everyone to wake up early, bathe (not shower, bathe), dress in new clothes (or at least fresh ones) and be ready for pooja activities or to have fun bursting firecrackers.
Back then, joint families were a lot more common compared to current times. Also, families were larger, with more than 10 people living under the same roof being common. Imagine that all of these people have to bathe and be ready early, all using the same bathroom (again, not shower!). This takes a lot of water! Early bathing also means that hot water for bathing could be desirable.
How was water heated for bathing? In large vessels over a fire, using wood as fuel. This large vessel, in Kannada, was called “Hande” and was made of a metal that was a good conductor of heat, generally a copper alloy. These were not vessels out in the open. A vessel, the “Hande”, was built into a fireplace in the bathroom. This fireplace was kept burning continuously until everyone finished bathing. So, water was filled in the “Hande” every few minutes. People took water needed for bathing, added cold water to achieve a comfortable temperature and went about their business. This process was repeated for everyone in the family. And this meant a lot of water was used.
The design of a well from 80s and 90s urban India
Where did all this water come from? It is not from a tap, for modern plumbing was not yet a thing. Water was drawn from a well, usually within the household and used for the bathing. Since many people have to bathe one after the other early in the morning, several buckets and vessels were filled with water ready to be used. And this leads to the origin of the “Water Filling festival”.
An exaggerated representation of carrying water.Image credit – “The Invaluable Treasure” from “Jataka Tales – Stories of Wisdom”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
Since everyone had to bathe early in the morning, the many vessels (called “koda” in Kannada) and buckets including the “Hande” were filled up with water the previous day or night, for immediate use the next morning. This activity took quite some time and human effort as all the water had to be drawn from a well and moved to the bathroom and wherever else it was stored for use the next day. This activity was common for the entire community and everyone knew what one would be doing on the day before Naraka Chaturdashi. So, it became a festival in its own right! And this is where Tom Sawyer comes into the picture.
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is a very famous novel written by the American novelist Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) in 1876. Tom Sawyer is in his early teens in the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Tom is tasked with whitewashing a fence as punishment, on a beautiful summer day when he should be having fun. Tom is worried that his friends will make fun of him for working when he should be reveling in fun and leisure. But Tom overcomes this problem with ingenuity.
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
Tom, with clever use of words, convinces his friends that whitewashing the fence is “the thing to be doing”. This leads to his friends wanting to try their hand at the whitewashing. Tom makes them trade him apples and trinkets for the opportunity. In the end, Tom gets his friends to do his chore, makes a profit in trinkets and gets the whitewashing completed well ahead of time! So, he is also left with a large part of the day for fun and games, while he was originally going to spend all of it at whitewashing.
Tom Sawyer made drudgery seem like fun and everyone participated in it enthusiastically! In my opinion, this is exactly what the “Neeru Tumbō Habba” does!Call the chore of drawing and filling water a festival and everyone is enthusiastic about it! Add to this, once it is called a festival, the activity becomes a responsibility and everyone participates in it actively. Naraka Chaturdashi was always the first day of Deepavali, but some clever ancestors of ours added a day “minus one” to the festival and made sure everyone is clean and ready on the first day! Genius indeed. 😀 I am sure Tom Sawyer would flip in approval.
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
A small aside here. When I was in school, we had a textbook for English called the “Gulmohar English Reader”. These textbooks were used from the first standard to the sixth (I think it would be called “sixth grade” these days). If I recall right, in the Gulmohar textbook for the third standard, the story of Tom Sawyer tricking his friends was a lesson called “Work can be fun” or something like that. If I am wrong about this and anyone recalls differently, please share your information with me.
Now let us have a look at the other festival, the last day of Deepavali, called “Varsha Todaku”. “Varsha” in many Indian languages denotes “year”. “Todaku” in a dialect of Tamil means “continues”. So, “Varsha Todaku” means “The year continues”, in a dialect of Tamil. It is interesting that the first festival “Neeru Tumbō Habba” is in Kannada, while the last festival, “Varsha Todaku”, is named with a word that seems more Tamil than Kannada. This is perhaps because my community originated in what is modern day Tamil Nadu, but have lived for centuries in what is modern day Karnataka, specifically the region that formed the Old Mysore State.
Coming back to the festival, what does “The year continues” mean? How can this be a festival? What is it a celebration of? I do not have clear answers to any of these questions. I have spoken about this to the older members of my family and have no answer that is satisfying to me. I am sharing what I think is the reason for this festival.
Deepavali is an awesome time! It involves holidays filled with visiting and hanging out with family and friends. It involves new clothes, great fun with firecrackers and great food! So, the end of Bali Pādyami leaves one with a heady feeling that one does not want to let go of, and prolong if possible. Back in the early 20th century, would this feeling be more special? Perhaps, I cannot be sure. Either way, getting back to normal life would be hard, or at least leave one with a wistful feeling. Add to this, the cleaning up that might be needed after the celebrations and visitors, a tinge of “I want more” might linger. So, we make the return to normalcy yet another festival!
So, one gradually returns to normal life, starting with cleaning up and maybe a little regular work on the day of “Varsha Todaku”. This is followed by a complete return to normalcy on the next day. Thus, “the year continues”. “Varsha Todaku” then becomes a bridge to come off the festival high and ease back into the routine. If this activity is a festival, it must be important, right? And so must be the letting go of the holidays. This is what I think explains the existence of this festival. Again, if anyone knows differently, please do share what you know with me.
Very few people even in my own family seem to remember or hark back to these two festivals. And Deepavali is now not a 5 day, but a 3 day festival. I feel that this 5 day pattern might not have been followed for very long, maybe a few decades in the first half of the 20th century. If it had been a practice for longer, I opine that its memory would be more prevalent. But I could be wrong here. I request anybody who knows otherwise to please enlighten me.
These days, families are a lot smaller, early starts are not important and hot water is easily made available at all times. So, there is no need to celebrate filling water, “Neeru tumbuvudu”. Similarly, there is so much opportunity to celebrate life these days. There is not even a need to wait for a festival. So, the need of a festival to ease one back to drudgery does not exist. There is no hankering for a festival and hence, no need for a “Varsha Todaku”.
I now have to connect all of the above to the martial arts, for this blog wouldn’t exist without Budo.
Years ago, my teacher shared an anecdote from the Bujinkan. One of the people he was training with, while in Japan, was an ex-paratrooper from France. This person was well built, about 6’3” tall, fit and strong, not to mention a very experienced martial artist. He in turn was training with another individual who was larger than he was. This person was about 6’5” or 6’7” tall. He was as experienced as the paratrooper in the martial arts, specifically the Bujinkan. Most importantly, he was a lot more muscled and in general stronger than the smaller (relatively speaking) individual.
The Bujinkan is not a sport and hence has no weight categories or rules. It is an exploration of real life combat and movement. Due to this and the size difference, the ex-paratrooper had trouble dealing with the larger person in offence and defence. So, he asked one of the senior Japanese teachers, what one can do against opponents that have a considerable physical advantage. The Japanese Sensei is supposed to have said that the way to do this is to make the other, larger person your friend and use his abilities to benefit you, instead of treating the other person as an opponent.
This response is about seeing a problem in a new light, or from a different perspective. Maybe the new perspective will show one how to use the situation which is a problem to one’s own advantage. This is exactly what I think my ancestors did when the festivals of “Neeru Tumbo Habba” and “Varsha Todaku” were added to Deepavali! They changed the perspective and made drudgery fun!
Image credit – “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, Illustrated Classic Edition published by Moby Books
In Hindi, there is a phrase, “aapada mein bhi avasar hai”. It means “there is opportunity in a crisis”. “Aaapada” is crisis and “avasar” is opportunity in Hindi. This is identical in spirit to the English phrase “Never let a crisis go waste”. This phrase usually means that one should use a crisis to make changes for the better. Perhaps these phrases also arise from situations that gave rise to new festivals and the response from our Sensei in the Bujinkan.
Deepavali (also called Diwali) is the celebration of “Light” and the triumph of Dharma over Adharma (very poorly translated as triumph of good over evil). The “light” is almost always associated with knowledge, wisdom and new experiences that help one benefit oneself in life. I guess when we throw “light” on a problem, the change in perspective leads to a solution, which might or might not have anything to do with the problem in the first place.
And finally we have the word “enlightenment”. My teacher once told me that one feels “light” when a weight is dropped. If you are carrying a heavy backpack and you set it down, you feel “enlightened”. By this definition, letting go of an existing or fixed notion is perhaps enlightenment, for the notion was a burden! And the lack of a burden allows a new perspective, which might show the lack of a problem where one previously existed. 🙂
And this perhaps allows for joyous participation in boring chores and the creation of new festivals – opportunities for the celebration of life!
A pesiosaurid. Image credit – “The Animal World – from the Knowledge Quest series by Reader’s Digest”
I visited Lake Vembanad in Kerala some time ago. It is one of the largest lakes in India. It is extremely beautiful and allows for some great cruises. The lake is host to several species of birds which make great subjects for photographs. Considering we have great cameras on mobile phones these days, one can take a lot of snaps, which will not be of professional quality, but make for great memories. Combine this with the image search feature on Google, one can also identify the species of bird or animal photographed, which adds to the entire experience. But the identification is not perfect, and depends on the photograph. Sometimes we would expect that photo is clear enough for an identification, but Google seems to disagree, and the search result is surprising. One such surprising result is what drives this article.
While out the lake, I took a short video of a bird swallowing a fish. I also captured an image. I thought it was a purple heron or a darter (snake bird), but was not certain. To confirm, I used the image search on Google. Aaaaaannddd, Google suggested that the creature in the image was…….wait for it……drumrolls…..
A PLESIOSAUR!!!! 😀 😀 😀
It was like I had discovered the local Loch Ness Monster (Nessie)! The image I used to search and result from Google are seen in the images seen below.
The image on the left was what was used for the search. The search result is seen on the right.
Now look at another image I took of the same bird. It definitely bears a passing resemblance to the famous, and very FAKE, Surgeon’s photograph of Nessie*.
The image on the left is the one used for the search. The image on the right is another image of the same bird. The image is the centre is the famous “Surgeon’s photograph” of Nessie. Image credit for the image in the centre – “Myths, Legends and Folktales – from the Knowledge Quest series by Reader’s Digest”.
Here is a video of the bird, just to confirm that it is not a dinosaur.
This incident goes to show how, even in current times, when we have a surfeit of information and access to the knowledge of the Internet, we are saddled with information that is wrong, glaringly and obviously so. And this with absolutely no intent on anyone’s part of deceit, malice or even mischief. And if this can happen, how often can it be that the information and we have is wrong and we are oblivious to the fact? Now, if there is a deliberate intent to pass misinformation or deceive, how incredibly difficult is it to overcome the wrong knowledge emanating in such a situation? Expand this further and if the knowledge is wrong due to a case of delusion, is there any way to escape at all?
Consider the use of deception and misinformation in the world with the few examples seen below.
The most expansive example is perhaps Operation Fortitude, the large scale endeavour carried out during World War 2, before the Normandy invasion (Operation Overlord) to hide the actual location of the landing.
The Indian army used the fear in Pakistani soldiers of being burnt to death in tanks to get them to abandon their armoured vehicles on the western front in the war of 1971.
Sounds of weapons were used as psychological warfare during the first Gulf War (Kuwait liberation war) to induce Iraqi soldiers to surrender.
This last example is not historical, but is aitihāsic. In the Mahabharata, Krishna uses a solar eclipse (or magic) to get Jayadratha to reveal himself and be slain by Arjuna.
Credit for the 2 images above – “Arjuna fulfills his vow – Mahabharata 35”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
The last example above just goes to show how misinformation has always been used by humans. Could this be an evolution of ambush hunting of animals adapted to attack humans?
Now consider how we look at the use of technology in modern day democracies.
In India, specifically during the elections, we discuss how there is a “tool kit”, which is a euphemism to suggest that specific organizations (mostly foreign with Indian allies) and foreign deep states are indulging in narrative warfare to affect the development of India and to control its regime.
In the USA and now in Canada, there is talk of election interference and manipulation by foreign powers.
National governments are increasingly identifying mechanisms to regulate and control digital and social media as these are the front lines in information manipulation and narrative control, 5th generation warfare, as it is called.
So, there has always been an attempt to achieve superiority through either a denial of information or through the use of misinformation. The counter to this would be to identify misinformation and the acquisition or gathering of authentic information, which might translate to knowledge. Both of these are continuous and incremental processes, not unlike the gradual application of misinformation.
This is perhaps why we have so many festivals in Hindu culture that are attributed to the celebration of knowledge. Consider the previous and coming month. There is a surfeit of opportunities to realize “knowledge is everything”.
22nd August, 2024 was World Folklore Day. Folklore, in many cultures, was a means of passing on knowledge, especially with oral traditions.
24th August, 2024 was Hayagreeva Jayanthi. Lord Hayagreeva is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu where he is depicted with the head of a horse. Lord Hayagreeva is considered the God of knowledge.
26th or 27th August, 2024, was Krishna Janmashtami. Lord Krishna imparted knowledge on several aspects, including through the Bhagavad Gita.
5th September is always Teacher’s Day in contemporary India. It is the birthday of former President Dr. S Radhakirhsnan. It is a day to celebrate teachers who impart knowledge.
7th September, 2024 was Ganesha Chaturthi. One of the epithets for Lord Ganesha is Vidya Ganapati. Vidya is knowledge.
10th October, 2024 will be Sapthami, the 7th day of Dasara. On this day, some communities celebrate Saraswati Pooja. Devi Saraswati is the Goddess of learning.
12th October, 2024 will be Navami, the 9th day of Dasara. On this day, apart from Āyudha Pooja, some communities perform pooja of Lord Hayagreeva as well. As mentioned earlier, Lord Hayagreeva is the God of knowledge.
So, knowledge is a key theme in several festivals of Hindu culture. Another aspect of knowledge that is celebrated in Hindu culture is the time and effort that goes into acquiring knowledge. This includes the development of expertise as well.
The time and effort in developing knowledge or expertise goes into training (including studying, practicing, interacting, experiencing etc.). In the Bujinkan system of martial arts, two Japanese terms are used in relation to training. One is Genjitsu and the other is Genjutsu. Genjitsu refers to reality or the actual truth. Genjutsu refers to using illusions or misinformation, mostly to weaken or negatively affect opponents.
Genjutsu however, could be turned inward; it then becomes a delusion. This is a result of training going bad or being in a silo for too long, when one does not realize that the training one is going through is either not of any benefit or actively detrimental to oneself or others. A mentor of mine, Arnaud Cousergue, has written about this in an article which I am linking below+. He refers to some practitioners choosing to only practice what is termed “cosmic stuff” without a firm grounding in hard training and technical aspects.
I had earlier mentioned how folklore is a means of transmitting knowledge in oral traditions. I personally feel urban legends are modern day folklore, but are not designed to transmit any knowledge. Consider the following two examples to illustrate the same.
Around the year 1990, there was a story doing the rounds in Bangalore of “Nāle Bā”. “Nāle” is “tomorrow” and “bā” is “come” in Kannada. The story was that a supernatural entity was going around parts of the city and causing harm to the residents. The entity’s means of gaining entry to a residence was to knock on the door and speak in the voice of a resident. The easiest way to deter this entity was to ask it to “come tomorrow” or “nāle bā”. This could even be achieved by putting up a board at the gate or write on the main door or the compound the same words (in Kannada). There were several homes which had done this.
In 2001, there was the menace of the “Monkey Man” in Delhi. A creature(s) or an individual(s) in the garb of a monkey/ape was attacking people on the streets of Delhi at night. In this case, there were some people who suffered injuries. These varied from serious to minor ones. There were even a few deaths reported due to the “Monkey Man”. But it was never clear if the cause of death was the attack or an accident caused out of fear and panic. There were also suggestions that some of the incidents were misreported. In the case of “Nāle Bā”, I am not aware of any case of real threat or harm of a grievous kind to anyone.
Both of these are urban legends, but did not serve to transmit any knowledge. It was just a story that gripped a city for a short duration. This is analogous to a delusion in training. One reacts to a situation that is not real or believes that the training one is indulging in is very useful, while it really is not.
So, in the world we live in, with deep fakes, fake news and “narrative setting/engineering”, it is extremely difficult to acquire or develop knowledge with real and accurate information. It is a continuous process to develop one’s ability to sense if a piece of information could be fake or partially false. It is exactly like continuous training with an awareness of whether or not it is relevant. It is the development of the ability to spot the Genjitsu and not be overcome by Genjutsu, whether it is delusions or external illusions.
Sensei Masaaki Hatsumi, the soke (inheritor) of the Bujinkan system of martial used to have themes to focus on for every year of training. This was a tradition that lasted from the 90s to the beginning of the pandemic. The theme for the year 2008 was “Menkyo Kaiden”. This phrase from Japanese can be used to illustrate how changes in the way a word is spoken and the spelling is changed can result is vastly different meanings.
Most of the times, “Menkyo Kaiden”, as far as I know, means that a person has received or learned everything a teacher has to offer, and is ready to add to that body of knowledge. One “receives a menkyo kaiden” after she or he has learnt everything a teacher has to transmit and has imbibed the same to the satisfaction of the teacher.
But when theme was mentioned as Menkyo Kaiden in 2008, Hatsumi Sensei, as far I know, wrote the theme in such a way that, while the pronunciation would remain the same, meant “transmitting falsehoods to the mind”. In practice, it meant, “confuse the opponent” or “mess with the opponent by confusing her or him”. This was all about feints and movements that caused the opponent to react in a manner that put her or him at a disadvantage.
This is literally the opposite of the original meaning! In the first case it was about giving all the knowledge possible. In the second, it is all about confusing a person with information and intentions that could be false or true, the truth of which that person is not supposed to be able to discern!
This is similar to another concept called “Kyojitsu tenkan ho”. This means that truth and falsehood are like a revolving door. It could be faking an attack or the intention to attack or the nature of the attack. The attack might be real, or a feint, which could be an opening to something else. This is something that all martial arts and martial sports teach. So, it is commonplace to want the opponent to be unsettled at all times so one can achieve an objective, which could be detrimental to the opponent.
This in itself would be a wonderful elucidation of how one needs to develop an instinct to determine if information received and knowledge gained are correct, relevant and beneficial. This aspect is also taught in the martial arts. Practitioners of the martial arts are expected to, apart from the physical techniques and abilities, also develop their intuition, awareness of situations and mindfulness of the opponent and factors like the surroundings and the atmosphere/environment of a place.
All of these are intangibles that are related to the instinct that is needed to survive a fight, or a conflict in general (like in the office where there is no physical threat). In the Bujinkan, this is taught as “Sakkijutsu” and is very important to develop over years of practice. This roughly leads to a practitioner having “a feel” of the situation, which includes the opponent, the place, the situation and most importantly, the potential for danger. This hopefully leads to either minimal conflict or hopefully the nullification of one, but in either case, the key is to escape/avoid any harm to the self.
This concept is not specific to the Japanese language either. In many Indian vernacular languages, the term for “experience” and “feeling” is the same. The word “anubhava” in Kannada and “anubhav” in Hindi are used to express this. “Anubhava” could mean quantum of experience, or what one is feeling. In the first case, the sentence in Kannada would be, “ninage yeshtu anubhava ide?” which translates to “how much experience do you have?” In the second it would be, “neenu yenu anubahisuttiddiya?” which would translate as “what are you feeling/experiencing?”
The word for expertise is “parinati”. In other words, while expertise is something that is recognized as a consequence of effort over time, the words for experience and feeling are the same, which could mean that an experience is the feeling that one can receive or gather. And when one is able to “get a feel” for anything, easily or nonchalantly, that is a sign of long experience, which is the root of expertise.
In conclusion, in contemporary times, when information is in surplus and easily accessible, knowledge, which is processed information, is not easy to come by, for the veracity of the information is hard to ascertain. With experience, one can perhaps get a feel for the correctness of information, and this skill could be knowledge unto itself.
I recently saw a video on Instagram where Eminem was discussing chemistry like a pro! It was an AI generated video**. If the maker of the video had not mentioned this, one would be left wondering if Eminem is a chemist by profession! But the video certainly “feels” off and anyone who knows of Eminem will check if this video is fake or not.
We recently had a training session with Daishihan Alex Esteve of the Bujinkan. During the class, Alex mentioned that the knowledge of biomechanics is accessible for anyone who needs it these days. But about 200 years ago, the knowledge of the use of biomechanics in martial arts would be a closely guarded secret, for the knowledge of the same was an advantage to the ones who possessed it, and this knowledge was not available to most of the populace. Go back further, by about a thousand years and the knowledge of biomechanics would have seemed mystical knowledge, for the number of people possessing the same would be a handful in any society and the effect of its use on any individual would perhaps be seen as magical.
In the case of the Eminem video I mentioned, the ability or skills to identify the video as AI generated is not commonplace, not all of us can do it. So, it does seem mystical, if someone can nonchalantly identify it, especially if that person does not know who Eminem is. But the regulation of the use of AI is beginning and an option is now provided on platforms to mark something as AI. This is likely to be the beginning of more people developing the skill to identify AI handiwork. So, as more methods to identify AI are developed, those are likely to be kept secret simply for IP reasons. Now this skill or ability is not mystical, but carefully guarded. And perhaps the ability to identify the involvement of AI without being told so will become second nature in the future. Until then, it is good to have a “feel” for something that doesn’t seem quite right, or all real.
As a last word, I will share a link to a video by Praveen Swamy, on the YouTube channel of the media organization, The Print. In the video he discusses how the conflict between cryptographers and cryptanalysts has been going on since millennia. The context in the video is about hiding information, but it is not that different from misinformation and the hiding of authentic information. This conflict between real knowledge and its duplicitous variants is eternal, all one can do is flow through this battle safely.
+https://kumablog.org/2014/07/ – The cosmic stuff that is referred to in the article is the belief that training only soft movements against slow attacks has prepared one for a real fight without having undergone rigorous training in the basics and hard training.
** The video was on the Instagram account of “yourchemistrypal.sg”, who had made the video using Parrot AI.
Today is Ganesha Chaturthi. As everyone knows, Lord Ganesha is most commonly referred to as “Vidya Ganapati” and as “Destroyer of Obstacles”. In the first epithet, Lord Ganesha is recognized and celebrated as someone who enables the gaining of knowledge. The titles, Vighneshwara (one who lords over obstacles), Vighnaharta (one who defeats obstacles) and Vighnaraja (one who rules over obstacles) are the ones that lead to “Destroyer of obstacles”. Lord Ganesha or Lord Ganapati is thus extremely important to us, as he is the one who facilitates the gaining of wisdom and the ability to overcome any obstacle on the path to achieving any objective.
Martial Arts, as I understand it, is about 2 things, self-preservation and conflict management. Both aspects require both physical and non-physical abilities. The non-physical abilities include intellectual and emotional abilities. All of these abilities feed into and off each other, and require practice. This is perhaps why Sensei Masaaki Hatsumi of the Bujinkan system of martial arts has said that one of the 5 points that form the essence of budo is to pursue both martial and literary skills. This statement is seen in the preface of the book “Japanese Sword Fighting – Secrets of the Samurai”. The phrase in Japanese for the pursuit of martial (physical) and literary (intellectual) abilities is the very mellifluous “Bun and Bu”. Bun is the literary or intellectual aspect and Bu is the martial/military aspect; Pen and Sword, if you will.
Image credit – “Japanese Sword Fighting – Secrets of the Samurai” by Soke Masaaki Hatsumi
Self-preservation obviously requires physical abilities to be able to move, if nothing else, and some knowledge (leading to experience) of how to be aware or mindful of the situation to survive. Conflict Management might require physical abilities, if the conflict can lead to physical harm, but always requires knowledge and experience of how to deal with the situation at hand and the path to the objective, even if the objective is just to manage said conflict from exacerbating.
In both cases, there is an obstacle, either to physical well-being or to the achievement of an objective. And Lord Ganesha enables both the overcoming of the obstacle(s) and the gaining of knowledge needed to do the same. This is where we see the links between Lord Ganesha and the practice of the martial arts. I shall attempt to describe both with one story respectively.
The most common story of Lord Ganesha’s birth is that Devi Parvati created a statue of a boy from saffron paste and gave life to it. This boy became Lord Ganesha. The circumstances around Lord Ganesha’s birth lead to his battling all the major Gods in Hindu culture. I am not going into the details of the story as it is quite long. But the story is fascinating and I would encourage everyone to read the same. There are comic versions of this story that bring to life the tale in a wonderful manner*.
Lord Ganesha is an incredible warrior from the get go. He can go toe to toe with all the Gods. Young Ganesha can not only fight Gods one on one, but can also take on multiple opponents effortlessly. He fights with a staff and a club and overpowers all who dare come against him. Even his brother, Karthikeya cannot defeat him.
An aside – Lord Karthikeya is usually depicted with a pole weapon, the vel or spear. Lord Ganesha also initially uses a pole weapon, the staff. Further, tile of this article begins with the word “martial”. If one keeps the pronunciation and changes the spelling, we get the word “marshal”, which is a way of referring to “Field Marshal”, the highest military rank, even above General. This is fascinating, as Lord Karthikeya is the commander of the armies of Swarga (loosely translated as Heaven), the abode of the Devas (whose king is Indra). In other words, Lord Kartikeya is Field Marshal of the Deva army. It is “Marshal Kartikeya” and “Martial Ganesha”. 🙂
Credit for the images – “Ganesha”, published by Amar Chitra Katha
Young Ganesha is eventually defeated by Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu by the use of subterfuge. He is beheaded by Lord Shiva during the fight and eventually gets the head of an elephant to gain the form we all know him in. Thus, Lord Ganesha was a warrior, a martial artist of the highest order! He could subdue his opponents without having to kill any of them; the story shows the defeated Gods retreat in the face of a superior opponent.
Another popular story relating to Lord Kartikeya and Lord Ganesha is the one where they compete for a mango. Lord Narada offers a mango to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva in turn sets up a contest between his two sons, Karthikeya and Ganesha, the winner is to get the mango. The one who traverses all 3 words and returns first will win the mango. Lord Karthikeya sets off on his peacock and believes he can win. Lord Ganesha cannot hope to compete against the peacock on his mouse.
But Lord Ganesha employs wisdom to win the contest. Lord Ganesha declares that his parents signify the 3 worlds and completes a perambulation around his parents. Considering that his parents are Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati, this is literally true in his case! So, Lord Ganesha has traversed the 3 worlds without ever leaving home! He thus wins the mango.
This tale of the mango is the setting for the Tamil movie “Thiruvilayaadal” (1965). I urge everyone to watch between the 11 and 15 minute mark in the link seen below. It depicts the story mentioned above.
These two stories depict the “Bun and Bu”, or physical and intellectual abilities mentioned earlier. In the first case, Lord Ganesha deployed his formidable martial abilities to achieve the objective of defeating the Gods. In the second story, Lord Ganesha employed wisdom to win the mango. The objective was to win a contest. He could not match the physical speed of his brother and his peacock. So, he used wisdom to change the nature of the game and achieve the objective.
In the first case, the obstacle was the physical attack of the Gods and in the second, it was speed of his brother. Both obstacles were overcome, but with entirely different means!
Speaking of weapons – Even though Lord Ganesha as a boy is shown using a staff and a club, the weapon depicted very often in Lord Ganesha’s imagery is the “Ankusha”. The ankusha is the goad used by mahouts to guide elephants. This is perhaps apt. A great beast of immense power is guided by a stick with a hook on it! This requires the knowledge and experience of working with elephants, “vidya” in other words”. The word “ankusha” is also used to denote control (including over the self). The ankusha is also the weapon associated with Vayu, the Lord of the Wind. An image of one form of the ankusha is seen below.
Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.
Hanuman landed back among the trees as Jambavan and Garuda split off. He landed on a branch and then dropped onto the ground softly, making no noise and creating no vibration. He then rolled to the base of a different tree and hauled himself slowly and noiselessly up onto a branch with his tail acting as a winch, holding one of his maces in one hand. As he started hauling himself up, he threw his other mace to land with a gentle plop a short distance away hoping to distract any of the asuras nearby. He was testing their abilities here, their sight, their hearing, and their sense of smell. He then hugged the tree and stayed still. Only his tail slowly crept down to the base of the tree increasing its length. It also carried down his second mace with it to the base of the tree.
He had barely stayed still for a few kshanas when a host of bright astras streaked towards him. He dropped off the branch the moment he felt the attack coming. The trunk and branch he had been on were blown to smithereens.
Hanuman now moved as a blur as soon as he dropped off the branch. Like earlier he moved in all directions at random while using the mace in his tail to flail about and scatter detritus on the ground, shake trunks, break branches. He leapt up on to trees, ran on the ground on all fours, ran on two legs, remained stationary for kshanas and only caused destruction with his tail. He even swung through the branches to higher levels of the canopy and between greatly separated trees.
Clearly the asuras were not deceived by stillness or distracting sounds. They likely could smell their quarry with great precision or see with absolute clarity in the dark. But his own abilities were not ordinary. He had a versatile fifth limb in his tail. It could change length to a considerable extent, change density at will and was perfectly prehensile. Also, just like his elders Garuda and Jambavan, his observational and warrior skills were unmatched, honed to perfection and beyond over millennia.
An observer with divine perception might have noticed that though Hanuman’s movement seemed random, the strikes with the mace in his tail were rarely so. He registered the point of origin of every astra flare and every deliberate malicious movement, and struck at that location with the mace. But none of the strikes were direct like with an arm. The flexibility of the tail allowed his mace to strike at impossibly acute angles and around objects like trees. His hits snaked up parallel to tree trunks, swung around trees, looped though gaps in the arboreal cover and dropped branches onto concealed enemies. So great was his training with his tail as a weapon, he could tell from the strike if he hit an asura or something else.
When he felt the asuras even begin to sense that he was not doing any of the striking with his discernible four limbs, he reversed tactics and used his tail to swing and move about while he thrashed about with the mace in his hands. The mace flew from hands to tail like it knew the path of its own volition. In less than three nimishas thus he had determined that he had twenty adversaries. Two were dead and none were now invisible. One was crushed under a falling tree and another had had its chest caved in by Hanuman’s mace. Most were visible and a few had failing yantras with clearly noticeable shimmers.
He now shortened his tail and flicked the mace into his left hand. He had sensed a reluctance to continue the attack from the ones hunting him. He let the lull extend kshana by kshana. He walked over to where he had dropped his other mace and curled the tip of his tail over it. He turned and took a few relaxed and uncaring steps. The creatures hunting him seemed to realize that he felt no threat from them, given that they had lost the invisibility. All of them now had their blades mounted at the wrists extended. Hanuman clearly saw all of them for the first time in this lull in the battle.
All of them seemed to have chakras, but none cared to use them. After all, what good would those do if the astras proved useless. Some also seemed to be carrying spears, which they had discarded in favour of the wrist blades. In the stillness of the forest, he also heard the faint whir of the cylinders on their shoulders which seemed to track his movements. He had noticed earlier that that was the source from which they fired their incendiary astras.
None of the asuras moved to retreat and that decided things for him. This was a fight to the finish. In that instant he heard Garuda’s roar and that gave him the opening to go on the attack. The asuras were, for a fraction of a kshana, distracted by the sound. He crushed the cylinder on the shoulder of one of the creatures at one extreme of their spread with a flick of his extending tail while at the same time he rushed the other extreme and crushed the cylinder on the shoulders of other asuras, one with his mace and another with his right fist. He then somersaulted over the shoulder of the asura whose cylinder he had crushed with his hands and flung the mace at the head of another from behind their cluster now. The head became a smear of glowing green.
His tail now shortened and snaked back towards him on the ground. It tripped up one of the creatures as it slid rapidly on the ground. None of his remaining opponents could unleash any astras for fear of taking down one of their own, for he was now behind their crude line. As the asura fell, the mace in the tail was raised high and almost came down hard on the head of another of the asuras. But this asura stepped forward while looking up to evade the strike as the mace came down. But the mace stopped its strike and stabbed into the creature’s abdomen instead, with the top spike, killing it.
The spike embedded itself so deep in the creature that Hanuman wasted no time trying to pull it out. His tail now wrapped around the ankle of the asura next to the impaled one. His tail now stiffened and extended, and it seemed like the asura was now strung upside down from a short pole. As this happened Hanuman had grabbed the asura whose cylinder he had broken, by the neck, from behind. The tail now relaxed and resembled a rope once again. It smashed the asura stuck in it on to the one who had been tripped by the mace earlier. The asura in the tail had its neck broken and the fallen creature, though alive seemed to have been severely injured. As this was happening, Hanuman snapped the neck of the asura he had grabbed. All of this happened in the space of a few kshanas.
All the remaining asuras had turned around to face him by now. So Hanuman dropped down low on to all fours and leap-rolled forward diagonally between two of the creatures. As he started the roll, his tail looped around the neck of yet another asura and stiffened to be a staff. As he ended the roll, the tail released the asura who was flung several tree lengths away. It landed with a crunch, and had clearly died of a broken back.
Hanuman stood up straight even as the asura was sailing through the air. He switched tactics from weapons and straight up punched an asura in the chest on the armour plate it was wearing. It collapsed in a heap, likely having had its heart stopped.
The remaining twelve asuras now retreated with great haste, again leaping and running away. Two were helping the injured asura move fast as well. They had lost eight of their fellows in a few nimishas and it was clearly time to retreat, regroup and rethink their next tactics. Hanuman let them leave, just like Garuda and Jambavan had done. He would not look to kill opponents who posed no threat and had no malicious intent, even if temporarily. It was time to check back with the other two and he leaped away.
Above image was generated by AI on WordPress. Its imagination of a Predator with a broken spear.
In a previous article of mine where I was extolling the relevance of the festivals of Aayudha Pooja and Vijayadashami*, I had described the concept of “Shinken Gata” in the Bujinkan system of martial arts. The Shinken Gata is also a test students of the Bujinkan go through in some dojos. Shinken Gata can be roughly translated as “The Form (Kata) where the Spirit (Shin) in the Weapon (Ken)”. The test involves facing multiple opponents who attack at the same time from different directions, while attempting to perform specific forms.
In my experience, some of the learnings from this test for a student are,
Fatigue sets in really fast
Multiple opponents cause disorientation
Techniques and forms fail routinely and cannot be relied upon
Fear sets in when there are multiple opponents, even in a safe simulation
The objective of the test was never to check the form. It was to show that the spirit (“Shin”) is the true weapon. One keeps going until there is no life left.
Failure will occur. One strives despite this awareness. It is sometimes possible to prepare to avoid failure, not always.
This test is in some ways similar to the “Kobayashi Maru” test in the Star Trek franchise. This test will always result in the individual being tested failing. Its objective is to test character and also to teach that one has to do one’s best despite the knowledge of impending and certain failure.
The Shinken Gata in the dojo where I train is usually administered before a student starts training weapons. In the past, there used to be many of dropouts post the test, but this has reduced in recent years. Individuals did not always drop out because the test was too hard or because they failed. Many a time people left AFTER they passed. I am not certain why, but one reason I have come to expect is that the passing of this test is very satisfying, euphoric even; hence the person who has passed is satisfied with what has been achieved and no longer has a drive to train further.
Those that pass the test and continue training have renewed vigour and train harder for a while. But the learnings from the test remain for a very long time. Those that do not experience the Shinken Gata test always want to. It is like not having tested oneself. Add to this the feeling that one has never experienced a real fight (fortunately) and has not even endured it in simulation, and one always feels deficient.
The simulated reality of the Shinken Gata makes one better prepared for a real conflict, even ones not physical, with an acceptance of reality and its unexpected nature. This experience in most cases helps one endure and survive, if not thrive. Shinken Gata even as a simulation shows what might be needed in the face of death, while facing overwhelming odds. One does everything one can, until the very last instant (the proverbial throwing of the kitchen sink or burning the boats). Hopefully this drive will enable survival and perhaps victory or achievement of an objective.
In my opinion it is something similar to this feeling of Shinken Gata that is part of the moulding of individuals who successfully become leaders. What they do with the leadership once it is achieved is a different matter altogether. This idea is the focus of this article. At the time of writing this article, we are still in the course of the 2024 Indian election to the Lok Sabha; there is still one last phase of voting to go. Hence, me being as political as any other Indian, am sharing some thoughts on why the Lord of the Congress cannot be the PM, at least not yet.
Consider the following well-known rulers/leaders/administrators from various points in Indian history and their struggle to attain the throne/leadership.
Left to Right – Ashoka, Chandragupta 2nd Vikramaditya, Harshavardhana. Credits for all 3 images – Wikipedia
Ashoka Maurya had to fight and kill his brothers to achieve the throne of Maghada in the third century BCE.
Chandragupta 2nd Vikramaditya had to dethrone his brother Ramagupta to achieve kingship of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE.
Harshavardhana’s brother Rajyavardhana was the Pushyabhuti king. He was killed treacherously. Harsha had to fight King Shashanka of the Gauda kingdom to protect his family and kingdom in this uncertain time. His limited success in the war protected his kingdom and he took the throne of Thanesar in the early 7th century CE.
Pulakeshi 2nd had to fight against his uncle Mangalesha who was the regent and had usurped the throne. This victory in the internecine conflict resulted in his taking the throne of the Chalukya kingdom in the early 7th century CE.
Raja Raja Chola had to fight off enemies from within the Chola Empire and also fight external enemies before becoming the king in the late 10th century CE.
Left to Right – Pulakeshi 2nd as depicted in a statue in Badami, Karnataka, Raja Raja Chola depicted in a bronze sculpture. Credits for both images – Wikipedia
Rana Sanga had to survive his elder brother’s enmity to become the king of Mewar early in the 16th century CE.
Rana Pratap had to survive attacks from the Mughals and also intrigue by his brother before claiming the throne of Mewar in the latter half of the 16th century.
Left to Right – Rana Sanga, Rana Pratap. Credits for both images – Wikipedia
Akbar had to fight and win the 2nd battle of Panipat against the forces of Hemu to win the throne of Delhi, during the middle of the 16th century CE.
Aurangzeb killed his brothers and jailed his father on his way to becoming the Mughal emperor during the middle of the 17th century CE.
Peshwa Madhav Rao had to overcome his uncle Raghunath Rao before taking over as Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy and restoring its glory after their defeat in the third battle of Panipat. This was in the latter half of the 18th century CE.
Left to Right – Akbar as depicted in the Amar Chitra Katha publication “Birbal The Wise”, Peshwa Madhav Rao as depicted in a statue in Maharashtra. Credit for the image on the right – Wikipedia
In the 20th century PM Indira Gandhi had to split the Congress party on the way to becoming the powerful leader that she came to be.
Lastly, in the current century, consider PM Narendra Modi. When he was the new CM of Gujarat in 2002, the tragedy of Godhra and the following riots occurred. After this incident, he had to survive opponents within the party, endure international ignominy and be acquitted by the enquiries and judicial processes that followed over the years. He then had to overcome challenges from within the BJP before becoming the PM candidate before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In all of the above cases, the individual who became ruler or leader had to face serious, almost existential threats to their selves or at least to their leadership ambitions. The leaders either faced very serious external threats or, in most cases, had to fight internecine conflicts before becoming the ruler or leader. I opine that this struggle early in their careers, is akin to the Shinken Gata, but with vastly greater consequences. It is likely this relentless fight to achieve the top post that stood them in good stead later, as they achieved success in keeping the top post against all challenges and also added more fame to their time as the ruler/leader.
This is not to say that those who do not survive a civil war or severe external threats will not become rulers or leaders and be successful thereafter. The examples of Bindusara, Samudragupta and Rajendra Chola demonstrate this. These rulers inherited kingdoms which were not on the brink of war and did not fight family on the way to the throne. Yet they are remembered as successful monarchs, even great ones, in the case of the latter two.
I am suggesting that when one fights hard to achieve the top post, and especially when one fights a civil war to achieve the same, even if it is not bloody and only full of intrigue, the chances of becoming a great leader is higher. Even if one is not yet fighting for the top post of PM or monarch, but has had to fight to achieve the highest post or any objective one aspired to, the struggle and endurance is likely to stand that individual in good stead should she or he aim higher, maybe for the top post.
Conversely, if the highest post one has held is handed to that individual on a platter, and that person aims higher, for the post of PM in today’s context, the lack of struggle to achieve the previous highest position could come as a handicap. The experience of a fight or conflict of any kind would lend itself to the strife that needs to be endured to win an election against a powerful opponent. And any fight to be PM would indeed involve powerful (skillful, wily, ruthless, choose your adjective) opponents.
Apply this to the principal challenger for the post of PM in the current elections, Rahul Gandhi. He has not had to fight against his own party members to become the leader of the Congress party. But he has been fighting for the post of PM for ten years now. Of course, it can always be said that he is not keep on the post of the PM, but if one chooses to believe that, that is their choice.
Rahul Gandhi is facing current PM Narendra Modi, who is as incredible an opponent as there can be. Rahul Gandhi was going up against a seasoned political and electoral warrior forged over the course of many past conflicts without any such history on his side. If Rahul Gandhi had had to fight hard to become Congress President, would that experience have changed his fortunes against Narendra Modi? I suspect that would indeed have been the case. This lack of past conflicts did him in, in both 2014 and 2019.
But things have changed in the last year. Since 2023, Rahul Gandhi is a much different political warrior compared to the one he was in both 2014 and 2019. The fight and defeats of the last two elections have been experience after all. Add to this the urgency or desperation to win or at least not lose as badly as the last two times have made him a stronger competitor. He is more fiery, applying greater effort and using all means that he can perhaps consider. In my limited observation, this includes building a coalition of limited strength and using the skill sets and resources of individuals and organizations outside India.
The drawback to these efforts will likely turnout to be the late start. The improved efforts will not result in the leader of the Congress becoming PM in 2024. The experience gained has not translated into successful application of the same to overcome the current PM. Hence, the Prince cannot be the PM. But, the struggles of the 2024 elections will translate into ability, if the effort is sustained. And hence, the Prince is not the PM, yet. His struggles could have put him on the long road to eventual success. But that, the future will tell, perhaps in 2029.
Disclaimer – I am not a historian, nor a specialist in the social sciences, and I could wrong about all the above points.
“Naruto” is an awesome manga and anime series. Similarly, “Mortal Kombat” is an awesome video game franchise which has spawned series and movies. One of the most enduring memories of both Naruto and Mortal Kombat is the use of the “Kunai”. The kunai as used by characters in Naruto is not unlike a knife, a throwing knife in many instances. The kunai in the hands of the Mortal Kombat character Scorpion is more like a rope dart, with a chain replacing the rope and the kunai being the dart. In both cases, the kunai is used as a ranged weapon, which is thrown at opponents.
The above image is of a harmless replica kunai. The shape seen is iconic, from several manga, anime and video games.
The kunai is learnt as part of the Bujinkan system of martial arts. Naruto and similar characters inspire individuals to train the martial arts. Of course, no one believes the fantastical elements and abilities of the characters in these fictional worlds. But when new students realize that the kunai is indeed a real weapon that they will get to train as practitioners of the Bujinkan, there is an unmistakable glimmer of joy in their eyes!
But the kunai as trained in the Bujinkan is not a ranged weapon, it is instead a close quarter short distance weapon. As I understand it from my teacher and mentors, the forms of the kunai we currently train were adopted from those of the jutte many years ago by Sensei Masaaki Hatsumi. Further, the kunai, is a glorified little shovel, which could be used in one’s garden!
Can the kunai be thrown? Sure it can, but in as much as any weapon can be thrown. The shovel, which is the kunai, is not designed to be thrown at opponents. But as we see with training, it definitely can double up as a small weapon when in a tight spot.
The image above shows a possible representation of a real kunai. Even a bricklayers trowel could be a kunai substitute, in my opinion.
The training version of the kunai we use in the dojo looks very much like a fish. It could be made of wood and be padded to enable safe training. So, the pop culture version of the kunai, while it could exist, is not the super-weapon it is made out to be in manga and anime. That version is imaginary, an illusion.
The above image shows a training version of the kunai. It is quite different from the pop culture version of the same. Note the fish like appearance. I have heard a mentor of mine say that the word kunai, could mean a fish or death! But the more common meaning I have heard for the word kunai is “no suffering” or “hardship being nil”*.
That said, the illusion is the reality when the word “kunai” in mentioned to most people. The first image that comes to mind is the one from pop culture, not the trowel or the gardening implement! So much so, that the kunai could be associated with stories for young adults or even kids and hence training the kunai would lead to the martial art form itself being considered with scepticism! For it is fictional and not be taken seriously! This potential for illusions to overshadow reality and warp the way we as individuals and large social groups perceive ideas and process information drives the ideas expressed further in this article.
**
All of us are citizens of one country. Some have citizenship of more than one country, but no one is a “citizen of the plant Earth”. This is despite all of us knowing that the borders are artificial and we are all inhabitants of the plant, specifically one of its many ecosystems at any given point in time in our lives.
The one thing that reminds us most glaringly these days about how borders of nations are artificial is climate change. Consider El Nino; the warming of the Pacific Ocean throws the weather out of whack in different ways in several countries. Similarly, even though the carbon footprint of specific parts of the world is much larger than the rest, the effects of the same are endured by all countries of the world. A simpler way of looking at this would be wild life.
All of us have always known that animals do not respect national borders. This is sometimes remarked on wistfully when we humans have to put in the effort to secure passports and visas. These days, multiple countries work together to create wild life corridors to enhance conservation efforts and preserve genetic diversity in endangered species. The tiger or elephant corridors that are under consideration between Nepal, India and Bhutan could be examples of this.
So, it is clear that all of us are citizens of Earth. But one area where this knowledge always takes a back seat is politics, specifically that which makes the need for passports and visas paramount – identity politics.
Hindus are a majority in modern day India. They are supposed to comprise about 80% of the total population. But look at the world as a whole and Hindus are a distant third as numbers of practitioners of major religions go. Hindus are still a massive majority compared to Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Jews and several other religions in the world. But they are only about a half of the total practitioners of Christianity and Islam.
Even more glaring is the spread of the practitioners of the two major faiths. Practitioners of the Hindu faith are concentrated predominantly in India, with very small numbers in all other countries they live in. In comparison, practitioners of Christianity and Islam inhabit a far larger number of countries, which occupy a much larger area of the planet compared to India.
Now consider the phrase that is used fairly often. “Hindus have a minority complex”. I recently learned that this phrase is a variation of a statement made by a Sri Lankan scholar, Stanley Tambiah, who said of South Asian communities, that they are majorities with a minority complex3. This phrase is used to remind Hindus that they are a massive majority in India and should not have any worries about their culture being under threat, within India. It sometimes is used to suggest that Hindus need not “work to maintain their culture against threats from other religious minorities”. Is this statement correct? Or fair? Perhaps, or could it be an illusion?
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I opine that there is a flaw in this concept of “minority complex” that is felt by Hindus. The flaw that I suggest in the above concept is that people who repeat it all the time (in my opinion) assume that Hindus always confine their identity to be in relation to the CURRENTLY EXTANT boundaries of the Republic of India.
As discussed above, all individuals in this day and age are global citizens. Considering the inextricably linked supply chains, financial systems and continuously fluid political relationships, what happens in one part of the world invariably affects every other. What is also true is that what happens in some parts of the world affects the rest more visibly and with greater impact than those in other parts of the world.
This is evidenced by how oil prices rise and affect all our lives every time there is potential military escalation in West Asia. Also, we all remember how wheat supplies to several countries were affected due to the war between Russia & Ukraine. This war also affected the supply of essential military hardware to India like the remaining units of the S-400 air defence systems. A conflict that potentially created a business opportunity for India is the one between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia has procured a lot of military hardware from India and this has improved India’s prospects of acquiring a greater share of military exports in the world. At the same time Indian tourists visiting Azerbaijan has also increased2.
Beyond all this, all of us distinctly remember the pandemic that not only affected every aspect of our lives, but also caused supply shortages of chips in many industries, due to the crippling effect of the pandemic on supply chains. Also, the current war in Gaza has the potential to cause friendships between people to breakdown in parts of the world that have no stake in the conflict at all. If one individual posts a lot in support of Gaza and her or his friend cannot agree with the sentiment, the rift that this disagreement causes can cause harm to their relationship. This despite both individuals living faraway, in India or the USA. Considering the USA, the manner in which the protests on many university campuses is affecting the life of several individuals is another example of how we are Global Citizens, despite being citizens of one or a few more countries.
With the rise of the internet and the age of information overload, a very large number of people in this integrated world have access to news and opinions from all over the world. With this information access, it is very easy to realize, which parts of the world wield the ability to affect the other parts more strongly and not be as affected in return. This makes these specific parts of the world more powerful than some others. Also, these parts or regions of the world can easily be associated with specific countries or nations. And nations can always be associated with a majority or in most cases a dominant religion.
The key facets that affect this power of some nations are military might, cultural might, economic might and numerical (population size) might. There could be more, but these are top of the mind for me, as of now. Military, economic and technological might are mostly related to each other. Let us consider each of these.
The two nations that are unequivocally more powerful than India militarily are the USA and China. The USA is culturally a Judeo-Christian nation even though it is technically a secular country. China is actively anti-religion and also anti-culture unless it is its own (this “culture” includes the middle kingdom belief). Many other western nations and Israel though smaller in terms of the size of their military forces are far superior when it comes to the technological prowess of the military forces. These nations include Russia, France and the UK. One could include Israel in the western ambit. Of these nations, all are Christian by culture while Israel is Jewish. This is despite the fact that most of them have secular constitutions. Also, the ability of minority religions and cultures to affect the majority in these nations was very small and is only now beginning to change.
Culturally, the only nation that could be argued to be more powerful than India would be the USA. Many other nations in the Middle East, Western Europe and China and Japan could be equal to India’s cultural power, but are not necessarily superior. Here again, most of the nations that are either India’s equals or superior are all either Christian or Islamic by either religion or culture.
We could look at “culture” in different ways as well. While Indian culture is original and vast in its variety, its audience is primarily the people who already live in India or form a part of its diaspora. While Indian art and culture is appreciated in different parts of the world, and this number is increasing in the last few decades, this is not influencing the culture in other parts of the world in a significant manner, as far as I know.
However, the culture of many other countries influences the life of Indians and those of many other parts of the world as well. Considering the past of Islam and Christianity in India, it is easy to see that these religions are a strong part of the cultural export of the countries that espouse these. Both religions practice proselytization and hence, the religion itself is a cultural export. Similarly, the Marxist ideology that controls Indian academia is a western export and has influenced everything in India from Government policy to cinema.
Compare this with Indian cinema, music, spirituality, religious literature and architecture. How many societies around the world are affected by the same? As far as I know, the influence of these is very small, even if the appreciation for the same might be fairly large. Bollywood simply does not compare with religion in its ability to influence lifestyle and culture. So, while India might be equal to many other countries in cultural quality and output, it would be less influential anywhere outside the Subcontinent.
When it comes to economic might, specifically when per capita GDP is considered, several nations in the Americas, Europe, West Asia, East Asia and South East Asia are all a lot more powerful when compared with India. Most of these are again, Christian, Islamic, Jewish or Judeo-Christian by culture or religion. Consider the videos below. It is from the YouTube channel of the media outlet “The Print”. The Editor-in-Chief of The Print, Shekhar Gupta explains how Qatar, which is really tiny and has a small population exudes an influence on the world which is way above its weight. This is simply because of its economic might.
In terms of technological might the situation is similar to that of economic might, but there are fewer nations that are superior to India. In this case again, the nations that are ahead of India are mainly Christian, Jewish or Judeo-Christian.
Consider the following article from the Eurasian Time website, the link to which is see below. The article considers three rankings. One is a global ranking by US News and Media. The second is an Asian ranking by the Lowy Institute of Australia, and the last is a global military ranking of countries by Global Firepower. The links to all three rankings are seen in the notes below+. I would suggest that everyone have a look at the original data available there.
The US News and Media ranking ranks India 12th in the world, below the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea and of course China as countries in Asia go. Consider how much smaller in area and population compared to India the UAE and Saudi Arabia are, and yet are considered more powerful. I have to add one caveat here. In the past I have suggested that global rankings and reposts of this kind could be weapons that act over time and not distance. This is based on the motivations behind the organizations and sponsors of these rankings. A link to the article where I mention this is seen in the notes below1. That said, these reports do show how we are considered by a certain kind of external gaze. These rankings would also allow us to see what others possess in terms of resources which translate into power, and hence cannot be ignored altogether.
We now come to the size of population. It is easy to think, India has a superiority in this aspect. But when one looks at the size of the practitioners of specific religions we see a different picture. One can say that the Hindus outnumber all other religions in India as they are somewhere between 75 to 80% of the populace. But herein lie several problems.
Hinduism unlike Christianity or Islam is not a monolith. It is more an umbrella term which could be easily replaced by “Dharmic” or “Indic” religions. Hinduism is a set of all those cultural and religious practices in the Indian Subcontinent where interaction with the divine is not about fear or obedience or adherence to a book, but a transactional faith based belief system, where most individuals have specific personal relationships with their divinities. Hinduism consists of all the smaller tribal, community based practice systems. Thus, despite being large as an umbrella organization, each of the groupings that make up this super set are pretty small.
Consider the remarks made a few months ago by the heir apparent of the DMK, where he compared “Sanātana Dharma” with a host of diseases and said that it should be exterminated just like those diseases. His party further explained the statement saying they only refer to the “Brahmanical” aspects when they refer to “Sanātana Dharma”. So, they classify Sanātana Dharma as Brahmanism and suggest that Hinduism is not the same or maybe they mean, it is a small subset of Hinduism which needs to be destroyed.
For several Hindus, Hinduism and Sanātana Dharma are synonymous. In this vein, another statement in late 2022 had caused consternation. Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran had suggested that the great Chola king Raja Raja was not a Hindu. Raja Raja Chola was responsible for the construction of the Brihadeshwara temple in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. It is a place of great importance for Hindus. Raja Raja was an ardent of Lord Shiva as far as I know. There are people in the political and movie industry circles in Tamil Nadu who suggest that the people of Tamil Nadu are not Hindus but are Shaivaites or Vaishnavites. Both Shiva and Vishnu are at the heart of the Hindu faith.
So, from the little that I understand, all of this seems to suggest that there is an attempt to split Hinduism as it exists today into multiple faiths. In Karnataka, there is an attempt from time to time to call the people of the Lingayat community separate from Hinduism. When I was younger, Lingayats were an integral part of Hinduism, to the best of my knowledge.
There is also the idea of the caste census these days, considering it is election season. The idea is not wrong, if it is purely to further progressive affirmative action. But the suspicion of this proposed exercise is that it is another attempt to split Hinduism and cause its component communities to be at odds with one another. One hears often in Indian media that the idea has been to split Hindus along caste and community lines while uniting the non-Hindus, to further vote bank politics.
This is contrast to some who consider all the practitioners of the faiths that had their origin in India, including Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism as Hindus4. But there are many who choose to disagree with this, which seems to be in keeping with the attempt to split Hinduism into smaller components. And then there are the anti-religion groups like the Marxists, who will prefer the end of any religions as part of their ideology (religion? 😛 ).
Let us now get back to the total populations of each of the big 3 religions that are prevalent in or inform the cultures of each of the nations we considered earlier. Even when Hinduism is considered as a whole, the total number of practitioners of this religion is far smaller in number as compared with the practitioners of either Islam or Christianity. This holds true even if one considers just Sunni Islam or Roman Catholic Christianity. There is in Islam the concept of an “Ummah” or “Ummat”, which means all Muslims constitute a single state and existing national boundaries are irrelevant. Granted, the number of Muslims who believe in this might be small. But it is not small enough for anyone who chooses to worry about them to ignore this aspect altogether. Thus, even if superficially Hindus seem to have sufficient numerical might and this might be true to a certain extent within India, they are just another minority at a global level.
What should be obvious is that the spread of Islam and Christianity in the world is so large that their density in specific countries might be low when compared with that of Hindus (as a monolith, not its components) in India. But the actual population is considerably larger. And the area available for these populations to develop is larger still! Simply because there are more countries they inhabit, unlike Hindus, who can only depend on the area available in modern India for any development. This availability of area for development, in my opinion, is like the ability to scale up industrial capacity. It is a great boon that can be used as necessary.
Of the three religions that inform the culture of the nations that are superior to India as seen above, Judaism is not a proselytizing religion and consequently no religion or culture in India feels threatened by the Jews or their culture.
Christianity and Islam on the other hand are proselytizing religions. They actively believe in converting people of other religions and cultures into their own. They seem to have no qualms either today or in the past about the extinction of all beliefs and traditions of the religions they want folk to convert out of. This activity might not be as mainstream in India as the previous few centuries, but it has not stopped either. Even in cases where practitioners of these two faiths and general populace of the nations whose culture is informed by the same, do not actively support proselytization in other nations, they do not actively denounce this activity either. No Christian or Islamic organization or people of majority Christian and Islamic nations, as far as I know, actively call for a proactive ban on the conversion of peoples into either of these religions.
Consider the video below. The speaker here is looking at Indians as potential converts into Christianity and India as fertile ground to “spread the word” as he sees fit. He exhorts people to put in greater effort to achieve the same. He further adds that one should study and understand Indians to be able to convert them. He does not seem to have any malicious intent. It appears that he genuinely believes that he is doing the “right thing”. But when one looks at it from the eyes of a Hindu, who is the target of his attempts, in my opinion, there is no option but to feel fear, apprehension. He is nothing but a threat, for what he is advocating, is not needed, and what he thinks about all this in not relevant, if it is indeed a free world his country of origin believes in.
We saw earlier how we are all global citizens and how India is inferior to many other nations on the economic and technological fronts. Add to this the fact that we are not superior in cultural power terms compared to many other nations. As we also saw, most of the nations more powerful than India are either Christian or Islamic. Now further observe that Hindus are not really even possessing of numerical might on a global level. This indeed makes one realize that as expression of power or even confidence in holding power goes, Hindus are fairly low on the ladder and are justified in being aware of this imbalance, even if they are not actively afraid.
Further, the numerical superiority that exists within India itself, when even remotely threatened only adds to the concern which might push one towards being more afraid. This is especially true when one remembers that there is absolutely no evidence of either Christianity or Islam, in the last thousand years, of carrying out any activity to preserve the culture of even converted populations. What is left over is that which did not threaten the new religion into which the peoples converted or proved useful in the conversion in the first place!
Now consider the fact that there is an active movement within Hinduism itself to split it into its component parts which are not in harmony with one another. And then there are the anti-religion movements. Past-Hindus, actively denounce Hindu practices, suggest that Hindus should not denounce either the denouncers of their religion or the practices of other religions, nor denounce active conversion out of Hinduism or even suggest why someone should not convert! These folk also never state the positives of Hinduism, while they wax eloquent about its supposed problems.
This above group can draw on technological, economic and cultural might from not only within the country, but also from nations that are superior to India, which creates a genuine power imbalance against Hindus.
Considering all the above aspects, Hindus feel outnumbered not in India (yet!), but within the Global ecosystem where we all live today. This will continue until Islam and Christianity give proactive and well enforced declarations that they will never convert anyone to their religions, at least within the existing political boundary of India. This declaration will have to be in perpetuity and not time bound. Additionally they should allow an audit of the practice of this declaration by Hindus. Lastly, they cannot oppose any attempts to reconvert Christians and Muslims within India into any other Dharmic faith. In short, Islam and Christianity cannot have objections to reducing their own number in the civilizational Hindu homeland of India**. When all of this comes to pass, the “Majority” of Hindus will be become real from the current notional. After this perhaps, the “Minority complex” can be ridiculed and the Illusion of a Hindu Majority will have been shattered.
Since this is a long and wordy article, let me reinforce in conclusion. Hindus live in a country that is not overly powerful in the world. The size of their population is not an advantage as is expected and even this is not unchallenged, and faces threats. The geographical spread of Hindus is very limited as well. So, any factor of comfort that arises based on superficial conventional wisdom might not be relevant. The minority complex is relevant, considering this is with relevance to the whole world, not just India. The “majority” is just an illusion and the majority would do well to not have the “illusions” of a majority!
4 I have heard it said that there is a definition from either the Supreme Court or in the Constitution, where there is supposed to be a definition of Hindus as the people of India who are not Christians, Muslims and Parsis. I personally am not sure where this definition is from and have not been able to find it. So, I am mentioning this point in the notes. If anyone know where this definition is from, kindly help me by sharing the source of the same.
**Every sentence in this paragraph is fantastical to say the least. How any of this can be done and the part about the audit specifically – I have no idea this is feasible in reality without causing problems, even if the words make it seem plausible (like faster than light propulsion).
Mundane Budo 