INDIA, August 5, 2017 (Government Press Release): More than a century ago, when Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa, he had not seen a spinning wheel- charkha- but during the Swadeshi movement, he meticulously spun khadi into the national life style. Now, khadi is in vogue again. Presenting statistics of khadi products sales, during last three years, the khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has reported nearly 33 per cent growth in sale of khadi products to approx. US$315 million in the fiscal 2016-17 from $237 million a year ago.
Known for natural luster and rough texture, khadi strands of late have turned livewire ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched khadi promotion blitz in his radio talk show three years ago. He has since hardly lost an opportunity to sell the khadi. He frequently articulates his penchant for khadi and directly signals to governments at the Centre and states as well as to the common public that the khadi must be promoted with spirit of nationalism. khadi is a cloth woven by hand using handspun yarn only. Natural fibers namely cotton, wool and silk are used in the production.
LONDON, U.K., August 4, 2017 (Bloomberg): The London Bullion Market Association this week lifted the veil on how much gold is stored in vaults in the city, which instantly joined a list of the world’s biggest hoards. Their estimated 596,000 bars weigh 7,449 tons, far short of the holdings of ”Indian Households,” estimated over 22 metric tons. And Fort Knox? The US government is second in world gold holdings, with around 8 thousand metric tons. After London’s hoard is thought to be Indian temples, with just under four thousand metric tons.
INDIA, June 6, 2017 (Lokvani, by K. Arvind): Thirukkural is a renowned literary work in Tamil composed by the Sage Thiruvalluvar over two millennia ago. Thirukkural has been translated into a multitude of world languages including Hindi, Urdu, Latin, French, German and American English. The German translation of Thirukkural influenced Russian writer Tolstoy’s thinking on non-violence, Tolstoy’s Letter to a Hindu which influenced Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas on non-violence includes references to the Thirukkural. Thirukkural has now been translated into Sanskrit, another classical language of India which is even older than Thirukkural. This article captures some of Thirukkural’s pithy life wisdom, as well as some interesting facts about Thiruvalluvar, Thirukkural, and its Sanskrit translator Sri S.N. Srirama Desikan.
Thirukkural is an ancient treatise on ethics and values that is held in high reverence by Tamils everywhere. Even though Thirukkural is said to have traces of influence from Hindu and Jain thought, especially where it exhorts non-violence and vegetarianism, and is held in reverence by Hindus in South India, it is considered mostly non-denominational and secular in the life guidance that it provides. Sage Thiruvalluvar is the poet who composed the Thirukkural, but not much is known about him. It is believed that he was a divinely inspired weaver born in Mylapore, Chennai, sometime between the 5th and 1st centuries BCE.
There are three kinds of devotees. The inferior devotee says, ”God is out there” and thinks God is different from His creation. The mediocre devotee says, ”God is antaryami, the inner guide who dwells in everyone’s heart;” thus the mediocre devotee sees God within. But the superior devotee sees that God alone is everything, for He has become the twenty-four cosmic tattvas. That devotee finds that everything, above and below, is filled with God.
— Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)
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