My India - Paramhansa Yogananda

My India

Not where the musk of happiness blows, Not where darkness and fears never tread;
Not in the homes of perpetual smiles, Nor in the heaven of a land of prosperity
Would I be born If I must put on mortal garb once more.
Dread famine may prowl and tear my flesh, Yet would I love to be again
In my Hindustan.
A million thieves of disease
May try to steal the body's fleeting health;
And clouds of fate
May shower scalding drops of searing sorrow -
Yet would I there, in India,
Love to reappear!
Is this love of mine blind sentiment That sees not the pathways of reason?
Ah, no! I love India, For there I learned first to love God
and all things beautiful.
Some teach to seize the fickle dewdrop, life, Sliding down the lotus leaf of time;
Stubborn hopes are built
Around the gilded, brittle body-bubble.
But India taught me to love
The soul of deathless beauty in the dewdrop
and the bubble -
Not their fragile frames.
Her sages taught me to find my Self,
Buried beneath the ash heaps
Of incarnations of ignorance.
Though many a land of power, plenty, and science
My soul, garbed sometimes as an Oriental,
Sometimes as an Occidental,

Travelled far and wide,
Seeking Itself; At last, in India, to find Itself.
Though mortal fires raze all her homes
and golden paddy fields, Yet to sleep on her ashes and dream immortality,
O India, I will be there!
The guns of science and matter
Have boomed on her shores
Yet she is unconquered.
Her soul is free evermore!
Her soldier saints are away,
To rout with realization's ray
The bandits of hate, prejudice, and patriotic
selfishness;
And to burn the walls of separation dark Between children of the One, One Father. The Western brothers by matter's might have conquered my land;
Blow, blow aloud, her conch shells all!
India now invades with love,
To conquer their souls.
Better than Heaven or Arcadia
I love Thee, O my India!
And thy love I shall give
To every brother nation that lives.
God made the earth;
Man made confining countries
And their fancy-frozen boundaries.
But with newfound boundless love
I behold the borderland of my India
Expanding into the world.
Hail, mother of religions, lotus, scenic beauty,
And sages!

Thy wide doors are open,
Welcoming God's true sons through all ages.
Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men
dream God -I am hallowed; my body touched that sod.

- P.Yogananda - From Songs of The Soul

Another Jewel from Bihar - Late Bismillah Khan

Recently I came across an article from Hindustan times which details the life of Late Shehanai Maestro, Bismillah Khan. He was awarded Bharat Ratna also.

Here is the info.

Bismillah Khan was born on March 21, 1916 in a family of professional shehnai players of a princely state Dumraon in Bihar.

He came to his maternal uncle Ustad Ustad Ali Bux, an eminent shehna player in Varanasi and at the tender age of six, started his practice in solitude on the banks of the Ganga and in the holy temples of Balaji, Jaru Mandir and Mangala Maiya etc.

Since his ancestors were all shehnai players including his great great grandfather late Ustad Salar Hussain Khan, great grand father late Ustad Husain Bux Khan, grand father late Rasool Bux Khan and father late Paighamber Bux Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan carried forward his legacy of shehnai.

He gave his first public performance at the age of 14 in 1930 at an all India music conference in Allahabad.

He also played shehnai for the free nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August, 1947. Khan has also rendered shehnai in a famous movie Goonj Uthi Shehnai.

Gauravshaali Bihar - An Unique Book about history of Bihar - is available in USA and India

It gives me an immense pleasure to announce the availability of an unique book about proud history of Bihar, in USA and in India.

Book is called "Gauravshali Bihar " and it is first of its kind to cover the period of more than 2000 years of Bihar's history. This book is written by 22 authors who have penned 55 chapters. Whole book is printed at Patna and it is truly Made in Bihar.

Book was released by Dy CM of Bihar, Shri Sushil Modi in Patna on 20th Jan 2007, during 1st ever NRB meet at Patna.

OneBihar - a group of like minded Bihari professionals from around the globe - have published this book. It was conceptualized by Naveen Sharma and art work was done by Chandan Singh & Mayank Krishna.

We have launched a T-Shirt also which is a good way to express our support for our culture, land and the people we are - Bihar and Biharis.

Prices are

Book -
$19.90 + Shipping Charges (Bay Area - Local FREE delvery will be made)
390 Rs + Shipping Charges (India)

T-Shirt
$9.90 + Shipping Charges (Bay Area - Local FREE delvery will be made)
190 Rs + Shipping Charges (India)


Book is available in USA at following address:

Saroj Kumar, sarojk@gmail.com, 1-510-712-9087

Book is available in India at following address:
order.gauravshalibihar@gmail.com

or call / SMS us at 91 612 6450916
Gaoravshali Bihar 1CR

One.Bihar,249.Above Rimzim, Main Boring Road
Patna-1, +91 612 645 0916

Please checkout following links to find more details.

Gauravshali Bihar Book
http://proudbihari.com/index.html
http://flickr.com/photos/scorius/352048579/

Gauravshali Bihar Book Release
http://flickr.com/photos/scorius/373731218/

Book- Table of Content
http://proudbihari.com/_wsn/page2.html

T-Shirt
http://flickr.com/photos/scorius/373731232/
http://flickr.com/photos/scorius/373689778/

Others
http://flickr.com/photos/scorius/389472765/
http://flickr.com/photos/scorius/373731221/
http://flickr.com/photos/scorius/373704434/

Nalanda University's ruins on YouTube

Naveen Sharma ji has uploaded quite a few nalanda videos...

Some of them are

1) Part-1

2) Part-2

Entrance to ancient Nalanda university found

Rediff.com says...

A team of archaeologists of the Archaelogical Survey of India have discovered the main entrance of the ancient Nalanda university in Bihar.

Read more here..