Taking Care of the Matrabhoomi (Motherland)

[Shantanu]

How important is taking Care of the Matrabhoomi, that is patriotism?

If we see @Aupmanyav for example it is the basis of his dharma. That is good for him if it floats his boat in the Indian context, but should patriotism be the overriding objective for all Hindus in India? What about Hindus living in other countries? Should they be patriotic towards India or the country that they live in, the Indian diaspora that is. This affects me as I live in the United Kingdom and have lived here for 45 years.

Further, should not one's dharma to oneself, one's family and to God override taking Care of the Matrabhoomi?

 

[sayak83]

How important is taking Care of the Matrabhoomi, that is patriotism?

If we see @Aupmanyav for example it is the basis of his dharma. That is good for him if it floats his boat in the Indian context, but should patriotism be the overriding objective for all Hindus in India? What about Hindus living in other countries? Should they be patriotic towards India or the country that they live in, the Indian diaspora that is. This affects me as I live in the United Kingdom and have lived here for 45 years.

Further, should not one's dharma to oneself, one's family and to God override taking Care of the Matrabhoomi?

Patriotism is for one's own country. Hindus in England may be patriotic about England etc. Patriotism is the love and care one has for the fellow citizens and shared heritage and principles of one's country (like history, culture, natural world etc.). This itself is good, in as far as it leads one to participate in public life, vote, look after fellow citizens who are distressed etc. If it leads to xenophobic hatred and feeling of arrogance and enmity towards other nations and peoples, merely because they are not of your own nation, then it becomes a evil.

 

[Shantanu]

Patriotism is for one's own country. Hindus in England may be patriotic about England etc. Patriotism is the love and care one has for the fellow citizens and shared heritage and principles of one's country (like history, culture, natural world etc.). This itself is good, in as far as it leads one to participate in public life, vote, look after fellow citizens who are distressed etc. If it leads to xenophobic hatred and feeling of arrogance and enmity towards other nations and peoples, merely because they are not of your own nation, then it becomes a evil.

And what when you disagree with what your Motherland stands for? Time to move out to another country or work for change?

 

[Jainarayan]

Think globally, act locally. I think that by being conscious of and taking care of our own little plot of land, everyone would contribute to the care of Mother Earth, regardless of national borders.

 

[sayak83]

And what when you disagree with what your Motherland stands for? Time to move out to another country or work for change?

Yes.

 

[Shantanu]

Yes.

Classic!

 

[ajay0]

How important is taking Care of the Matrabhoomi, that is patriotism?

If we see @Aupmanyav for example it is the basis of his dharma. That is good for him if it floats his boat in the Indian context, but should patriotism be the overriding objective for all Hindus in India? What about Hindus living in other countries? Should they be patriotic towards India or the country that they live in, the Indian diaspora that is. This affects me as I live in the United Kingdom and have lived here for 45 years.

Further, should not one's dharma to oneself, one's family and to God override taking Care of the Matrabhoomi?

J.B.S.Haldane, Ruskin Bond and Sister Nivedita were britishers who lived in India taking up Indian citizenship and enriched their adopted nation.

Satyananda Stokes/Samuel Evans Stokes, Jr., was an American who similarly took up Indian citizenship and took part in the Indian freedom struggle. He introduced apples to Himachal Pradesh, correctly gauging that it is suitable for its climate and terrain, and developed its economy in the process.

Thus the duty of the overseas Hindu should be towards his or her adopted nation and its spiritual and material progress keeping Dharma in mind.

As the saying goes, 'Vasudeiva Kudumbakam -- The whole world is one family.'

 

[Aupmanyav]

1. Shantanu, you are still an Indian citizen. So, your first obligation remains to India.
2. I am an atheist, so the God consideration does not apply for me. As regards family, that is second to the country. No country, no family. To save the family, you first have to save the nation.
3. Now, you are in UK. What happens if UK goes to war with India? One should try to help that it does not happen. If that is not possible, then do not do anything to help the country that is attacking your country. If your country needs you in time of its difficulty, then return to your country to pay the debt.
4. For a Hindu citizen of Pakistan or UK, to fight for Pakistan or UK will be his dharma.
Your turn.

 

[Shantanu]

1. Shantanu, you are still an Indian citizen. So, your first obligation remains to India.

I have a UK Passport and only go to India on holidays.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Are you a British citizen and enjoy the same civic facilities as Theresa May?

 

[Shantanu]

Are you a British citizen and enjoy the same civic facilities as Theresa May?

I have struggled to maintain my dignity in this country of the United Kingdom being forced to accept treatment for a mental abnormality that the State insists I suffer from as an incurable disorder that must be managed with anti-psychotic medication. The Courts would not listen to my pleas for justice and that there is nothing wrong with me mentally and so I applied for asylum in India with the Indian High Commission in London. It is apparently still under consideration by the High Commission. While this consideration went on endlessly I was forced to take the medication prescribed for fear that the State doctor would otherwise put me in a mental hospital which can enforce the medication into me. This process of incarceration under the Mental Health Act is known as Sectioning and has happened to me on two occasions, first in 2004 and then in 2008. The State tried it again last year but I escaped through careful manoeuvring of legal procedures against the State doctor. They would have forced electroconvulsive therapy this time I am sure if I had fallen into their hands without the legal manoeuvres that I mounted. These sectioning acts were done to silence me from protesting against the State's activities but were dressed up as a mental disorder. That is what they do here to keep everyone under the State's control to live their lives as morons in a police state. The Indian High Commission sat and watched my plight unmoved with the representations that I made for asylum. I first applied to return to India in 1998 when I lost my scientific job at the University of Greenwich but the Indian High Commission prevaricated from that point onwards.

Because of this experience with the Indian High Commission now I do not ever want to go to live in India and do not consider it my Matrabhoomi. Mr Narendra Modi may care to note this. I would rather live in the UK under State control with its medication but with decent human beings that the British populace is and not with callous dogs like Dr Sivaji Panesar of the Indian High Commission London who wanted me to be charged as a vexatious litigant for pursuing justice in the Courts - see here: Application to Classify Dr Shantanu Panigrahi as a Vexatious Litigant by the Indian High Commission. The British on the other hand like to see that there are always legal procedures that can be pursued by anyone who feels aggrieved. I have only spent £100 to get my Case heard, even though I have not yet got the desired outcome because the State is organised to ensure maximum efficiency in the economy. The legal process has not yet been exhausted and no UK person or institution has stopped me from pursuing the legal avenues that I wanted. It had to be the Indian Government that tried to do this dirty work for the UK State.

Do you want to discuss this further?

 

[Aupmanyav]

[QUOTE="Shantanu, post: 5341412, member: 39398".. being forced to accept treatment for a mental abnormality that the State insists I suffer from as an incurable disorder that must be managed with anti-psychotic medication. .. They would have forced electroconvulsive therapy this time I am sure if I had fallen into their hands ..[/QUOTE]I don't think so and electroconvulsive therapy is not the only way psychological problems are resolved. That happens in India. IMHO, you should probably take the medication and procedures that the doctors provide there. It may really help you and save you from legal problems. The UK government is not your enemy.

 

[Shantanu]

[QUOTE="Shantanu, post: 5341412, member: 39398".. being forced to accept treatment for a mental abnormality that the State insists I suffer from as an incurable disorder that must be managed with anti-psychotic medication. .. They would have forced electroconvulsive therapy this time I am sure if I had fallen into their hands .I don't think so and electroconvulsive therapy is not the only way psychological problems are resolved. That happens in India. IMHO, you should probably take the medication and procedures that the doctors provide there. It may really help you and save you from legal problems. The UK government is not your enemy.
.

Thank you for your advice that is well intended. Indeed as I indicated in the OP you are a really worthy spokesperson for India and I hope you will be suitably rewarded for your efforts of serving the Matrabhoomi based on the principle that if you protect the State the State will provide for you and your family.

My idea of living guidance is based on dharmo rakshati raksita: that if you protect dharma dharma will protect you, and that dharma cannot be separated from bhakti because dharma is integral to the functioning of the universe as created by God. So I do not serve any State, be it the UK or India but I serve this description of dharma without looking out for the benefits accruing other than that given by dharmo rakshati raksita.

I do take my medication regularly - 3 mg of risperidone each night.

 

[Shantanu]

Here is an update on my relationships with my two Matrabhoomis (Motherlands), the birth Matrabhoomi of India and the adopted Matrabhoomi of the United Kingdom: The UK State organises the insertion of unlawful Blog messages here and suppresses their just resolution.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

"Shantanu,"

Namaste,

I will give my perspective on this.

How important is taking Care of the Matrabhoomi, that is patriotism?

I was born in Fiji, I live in Australia, my Matrabhoomi (ancestral homeland) is Bharata, my Janm Bhoomi (Place of Birth) is Fiji and my Karm Bhoomi (where i perform Purushastra) is Australia, and i am patriotic about all three of these.

Further, should not one's dharma to oneself, one's family and to God override taking Care of the Matrabhoomi?

If it wasn't for ones MatraBhoomi then performance of Dharmah would not be possible, if our MatraBhoomi/KarmBhoomi/JanmBoomi is cared for then automatically our self's and family are cared for.

Our first Dharma is to Bhoomi Mata as a whole, its all the one planet is it not.
Dhanyavad

 

[Islington]

Alright, but just for the sake of arguing: where is the duty of one who is of mixed blood?

Let's say, Indian father and English mother -born, raised and living in England // Or in the USA

 

[ajay0]

Alright, but just for the sake of arguing: where is the duty of one who is of mixed blood?

Let's say, Indian father and English mother -born, raised and living in England // Or in the USA

It is the same thing. Winston Churchill had an American mother and an English father. As british prime minister, this relationship and cultural understanding, helped him to create a smooth, working relationship with the Americans which was effective in the defeat of the fascist forces threatening democracy and freedom in the second world war.

The Mughal Emperor Akbar married the Hindu princess Jodha. This marriage brought to an end the conflict between the muslims and Hindus. Akbar was known for his liberality and progressive mindset, and ended the jizya tax on Hindu pilgrims. He gifted the land for constructing the Sikh golden temple , was a patron of the Jain religion, and put down the fanatic elements and clerics within Islam. He also became a vegetarian, and translated the Bhagavad Gita to Persian. He also held friendly inter-faith discussions with visiting European Christian scholars, and promoted inter-religious harmony amongst all faiths.

Historians consider the reign of Emperor Akbar as one of the golden ages of India , similar to that of the emperors Ashoka the Great and Vikramaditya earlier.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Let's say, Indian father and English mother -born, raised and living in England // Or in the USA

My view: What citizenship? That is the most important decider. When one assumes citizenship of a country, then one undertakes its responsibilities. One must not go back on it. That won't be dharma. Sympathy to the place where born, raised or living come next to it, but duty is to the country whose citizenship one bears.

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

Note: In certain circumstances there can be a modification or waiver of the Oath of Allegiance. Read Chapter 5 of "A guide to Naturalization" for more information.
Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America