GLORIOUS BASTARDS

In the days of British imperialism, women were allowed on board on naval ships and wanton orgy and promiscuous behaviour resulted in many illegitimate children- many children born with questionable parentage. The children were conceived under the gun deck (and to militia men), thus those illegitimate children were called SON OF A GUN. A son of a gun or a bastard was a child born of parents who are not married to each other, and are ostracized and ridiculed by the society. In spite of the humiliation, a few of these bastards have climbed insurmountable odds to excel, and have shaped the lives of millions. I am not sure about Quentin Tarantino's Bear Jew and the band of "Inglourious Basterds" who scalped Nazis, but there sure were some glorious bastards who played an important role in creating history. So, this article is a tribute to those offsprings born on the "wrong side of the blanket" as the Chinese would say.

K'ung-tzu or Confucius as we know him today was a great philosopher and thinker of the Oriental world, whose teachings have greatly influenced Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Vietnamese and Japanese way of life for centuries. Confucianism is widely spread in these countries with followers as far as Europe too. However, his biological parents had an extramarital swing at odd ages- his mother was just a teen while his father was a very old man. Confucius was branded a "yehe", or a child born of illicit union. Yet, his fame reached out far beyond his humiliating birth.

The stigma of illegitimacy didn't spare rulers and monarchs. William the conqueror invaded England and brought Norman-French culture to England, changes to the English language, church reform, changes in trade, law, education, agriculture, royal administration, etc. He was the Duke of Normandy who had a seedy birth. While his father was Robert I, the duke of Normandy, his mother was the daughter of a tanner or an embalmer. He was greatly depressed about his birth, and he was known as William the Bastard (Guillaume le Bâtard), before people accepted him as the legal heir to the throne.

T. E. Lawrence was a British military officer who is well known for his liaisoning role during the Turk-Arab revolt during the First World War. His powerful writings, his wide ken of associations and activities had made him a cult figure, and increased the fetish love for anything Arabic among occidental diplomats. Lawrence of Arabia as he was known, was one of the five illegitimate children born to his "un-catholic" parents, his mother too being a bastard herself.

Leonardo da Vinci, the creator of Last Supper, Monalisa and other famous works is remembered today as a most versatile human being: He was a polymath who was adept at being a painter, philosopher, sculptor, engineer, mathematician, writer, inventor, architect, botanist, scientist, anatomist and musician. He was the perfect epitome of the renaissance man, whose multi-fared skills and insatiable curiosity readied medieval Europe into the Industrial revolution. This great soul was the son of a notary and a peasant girl, who might simply have had a "one-night stand" in a haystack producing Leonardo, before parting separate ways to different marriages. Leonardo totally had 17 half brothers and siblings, none too proud of their birth.

Two Argentinian villagers, Juan Duarte and Doña Juana had a steamy fling at each other and gave birth to Eva Perón. Evita, as she would be known, became a strong political figure in Argentina, heading the ministry of health, ministry of labour and social welfare, became the vice president of Argentina, Argentinian senate president and held other posts. She got the title, "Spiritual Leader of the Nation" by the Argentinian Congress, inspite of allegations of corruption and getting too cozy with Nazi war criminals. Yet, she remains a bastard who destroyed her birth certificate to hide details of her birth...

Alexander Hamilton was United States' first secretary of the treasury, and one of the founding fathers of the USA. He was also one of America's first constitutional lawyers. As a person who greatly shaped America's formative government policies, he was influential in creating America as we know it today. By his own accounts, he was born out of wedlock, the American way of saying, "illegitimate child" (Oh, these Americans!).

One of the greatest seductress in the American film industry, Marlyn Munroe's birth is veiled perhaps to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy. She was brought up in foster homes, not knowing who her father was. Likewise, queen Elizabeth I of England was declared illegitimate when she was barely 3 years old, after her mother (2nd wife of Henry VIII) was beheaded for not able to beget a male heir to the throne.

Born of an adulterous shenanigan between a farm labourer and a housemaid, Ramsay MacDonald became the illegitimate son who would become a British politician and hold the position of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, twice. He became the first Labour Prime Minister in 1924. The associated stigma of illegitimacy affected him, as the deeply conservative Presbyterian Scotland viewed illegitimacy with a vehement scorn.

Other famous personalities who were born of unmarried illicit sexual relationships include Henry Morton Stanley (famous explorer of Africa), Édith Piaf (France's greatest popular singer), James Smithson (Chemist, of Smithsonian Institute fame), Edward Gordon Craig (Show business and theatre), Helena Modjeska (Shakespearan actress), Sarah Bernhardt (actress), Vasily Zhukovsky (famous Russian poet), Howard Staunton (chess player, standardised chess as we know it today), Aleksandr Herzen (Russian writer and thinker, father of the Russian Socialism), Jenny Lind (Opera singer, known as the Swedish Nightingale), Stefan Banach (mathematician, founder of modern functional anaylsis), Ivan Pnin (Russian poet, political writer), and Leon Battista Alberti (Italian poet, priest, philosopher, architest, linguist and cryptographer).

31% of children born in Europe today are bastards, while in the UK it is 42%. The numbers can be high as 55% in Estonia to a low 3% in Cyprus. Illegitimacy stigma weighs down heavily on such people mainly because of society's attitude towards extra-marital sex and moral values proscribed by religion and society. Wanton, adulterous and promiscuous behaviour was very prominent in ancient Rome and throughout the medieval Europe. Some cultures have the opinion that children born of wastrel parents are destined to spread gloom and terror. Born of the seeds of passion and lust, it is opined that such children are a source of misery. This can be said true in the case of Adolf Hitler.

Hitler's paternal grandfather is contested by three people, Johann Georg Hiedler, his brother Johann Nepomuk Huttler, and Leopold Frankenberger. It is rumoured that Leopold Frankenberger's son had an affair with Maria (Adolf Hitler's grand mother) and the illegitimate son Alois could well be because of him- which gave a Jewish blood to Hitler as Leopold was a Jew! Hitler's father Alois is the illegitimate son of Maria, who could be linked to Johann Georg Hiedler as well. Alois married Anna and yet maintained a decadent life of a licentious nature, married Franziska Matzelsberger and then married Klara (who gave birth to Adolf Hitler). Hitler's mother Klara was the granddaughter of Hitler's step uncle (and possible father or biological uncle), Johann Nepomuk Huttler. If Nepomuk was Alois's father, Klara was his niece- if Georg was Alois' father, she was his first cousin once removed. It would seem that incest and promiscuous activity of Hitler's ancestors had given birth to a demon!

Picture copyright: (From top to bottom)
Confucius: Copyright expired (over 100 years), Public Domain-Art
Leonardo da Vinci: Istituto Comprensivo di Villa Lagarina, Public Domain-Art
Eva Peron: Unknown (over 25 years old), Public Domain
Ramsay MacDonald: by George Bantham Bain Collection, Public Domain

INDEPENDENCE FROM IGNORANCE

A tryst with destiny was fulfilled 62 years ago. India was finally "free" after centuries of domination. The plunderers right from the Sassinids, Persians, Turks, Mongols, Arabs to the Mughals and the British, all established their own dynasties and starting looting India. No other country or land mass was looted as much as India was. For a period of over 1000 years, Indian land mass was attacked and invaded thousands of times. The identity of Indians were changed so many times- isn't it anything but a miracle that in spite of over a millennium of invasion, the great land has sustained itself?

Cultural imperialism was so very dominant, and any other land with over a 1000 year period of invasion and humiliation would lose its identity and its core values. Yet, Indians have managed to retain their rich culture and tradition. Isn't it a wonder?

In my view, this was possible because the people from India realized that material aspirations were inferior to spiritual bliss, and that was something which could not be killed. However, an ominous task awaits. Although rapid strides have been made in every possible field since independence, new challenges present itself everyday. Population, pollution, scarcity of natural resources, intolerance, ethical depravity, etc. are some of the current problems which have raised its head in ugly proportions. However, there is a much bigger problem which is silently eating into us. The biggest problem in the 62nd year of independence is the ignorance of the masses.

Ignorance is bliss, so it is said. But that so called bliss is binding us into deception, delusion and slavery. Ignorance is steeped in us in every aspect, right from the monumental to the mundane issues, from spiritual affairs to worldly matters- our ignorance is so acute that for any 10 things we do, we don't have the knowledge or belief in our actions for at least 5 of those things. Try to answer these questions:

1. We go to the temples, the priest does so many rituals- we follow them, even at home, at an event, special ceremonies, etc. Do we know the reason behind all those rituals or WHY we do them?

2. What is the reason behind fasting (staying without food) on some days in certain religions?

3. Why do we exchange garlands/rings during marriages?

4. Why is kneeling/bowing down or touching the feet, a mark of offering respect in almost all cultures in the world? (or) Why do we bow/touch the feet to offer respect?

5. If the we have to pay the tax to the Government, isn't it simpler to actually adjust everything in the salary, instead of undergoing an exercise of tax filing?

6. AIDS- how many of us are aware of how it spreads, or how it originates? More on this HERE.

7. Why is the colour red associated with anger/rage, green with envy/jealousy ?

8. If wars are fought in a free-for-all fashion, what is the use of infantry marching in ranks in a disciplined manner?

9. Black cats, number 13, walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, dropping salt, touching wood, etc. are all superstitious beliefs. And there 1000s more- anybody knows why we do them?

10. Why do we eat three times a day, at specific times (breakfast time, lunch time and dinner time), and not usually at other times?

The aforementioned points are day to day issues and yet most of us don't know the reasons behind them. Our ignorance coupled with an inexplicable fear of bad tidings if we fail to do certain things have given rise to superstition in India. If things are being done just because it was the custom, is not a reason to justify our actions. We need freedom from this ignorance which has plagued us for centuries now. Nothing could better explain our rationale for work/action than could this following verse from Chandogya Upanishad:

It says, whatever you do- FIRST KNOW IT FULLY. Then, BELIEVE in it, and THEN, DO IT. First comes knowledge, then belief in that piece of knowledge/information. Only after we know and believe in something should we perform our actions. This verse explains the essential requirement for ANY action to be performed, even breathing. Our problems started when we lost the knowledge- but yet believed in certain things without knowing what it is. Take any of the above mentioned examples- we do it but we have lost the knowledge. That gave rise to superstitions. Naturally people will start to ask questions, and many times they won't get convincing answers and hence they will lose the BELIEF. All this is because we lost the knowledge in the first place. And when we do action without knowledge or belief, it is nothing but ignorance.

And it is this ignorance which has crept up so alarmingly in India's society that nobody really knows a way out. What we need is not an independence day to remember our heroes- if we introspect deeper, nobody can conquer us if all our actions are supported by knowledge and belief. Our true freedom comes when we have conquered our ignorance. Until then, we are just fooling ourselves by a false sense of being "independent", while we are becoming slaves to ourselves.

KNOWLEDGE- BELIEF- and then, ACTION... in that order. Follow this in your day-to-day life, and you will find a marked increase in your productivity and your inner freedom.

JAI HIND!

THE MOONWALKERS

Some 40 years back, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin fulfilled a goal of US president John F. Kennedy, who stated in a joint session of the Congress on May 25, 1961, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth". True to his word, 8 years later man landed on the moon. This article is a tribute to the best 'moonwalkers' there have ever been.

NEIL ARMSTRONG - The first man to land on the moon also said one of the most famous quotes of the twentieth century, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". He promised us the moon and kept his word. His feat is remembered as the pinnacle of scientific progress.

EDWIN "Buzz" ALDRIN - The second man to step foot on the moon, he is not too impressed by the recent US plans for a moon mission. "America to Mars is what ought to be, not America back to the moon", derided Buzz Aldrin. According to National Geographic, he is the first person to pee on the moon! Inspite of his quaintness, he remains a paradigm of human endeavour.

MICHAEL JACKSON - The king of pop, the single man who rejuvenated a dying music industry, the person who wowed the world with his legendary "moonwalks", the most famous/well known music artist in the world... Michael Jackson was the most complete dancer of this century, and an entertainer non pareil. He is a moonwalker in his own terms. Aaawwww!

12 ANGRY MEN - Between 1969 and 1972, five more NASA missions landed on the moon, giving a total of 12 people the chance to walk, run and even golf on the lunar surface. Pete Conrad became the first man to officially "dance" on the moon. And MJ did the moon walk on Earth. Talk about similarities! Man's fascination to grab the moon mysteriously waned. Inspite of much advanced technologies and facilities, no one has landed on the moon since 1972. The original 12 moonwalkers are forever etched in history.

TINTIN & GANG - Tintin, Captain Haddock, Snowy, Professor Calculus, the Thomson twins and Joylon Wagg gave us the first ever moon adventure through a comic book, many years before Armstrong and co. did it in reality. What's amazing about this book (Tintin- Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon) is that every technical detail had been thought of, and it was very similar to how the Apollo mission was conducted. The adventures of an intrepid boy reporter Tintin have continued to fascinate readers decades after it first appeared. The moon adventure was one of his best books- Hergé (the creator of Tintin) gave us a glimpse of the moon to the readers much in advance of the actual mission. Tintin remains, the first fictional character to land on the moon.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the moon. The 40th anniversary of the moon landing was celebrated a few days back, but it was not without drama. NASA revealed that it lost its original tapes of the moon landing, probably erased! NASA and a Hollywood film restoration company (Lowry Digital) took television video copies of what Apollo 11 beamed to Earth 40 years ago and made the pictures look sharper. This fueled the fire of conspiracy theorists who contended that the whole episode was fake. Conspiracy theorists had created quite a furore, especially given that it was the finest achievement of science. Rebuttals and counter rebuttals were exchanged. On the 40th anniversary of the moon landings recently, National Geographic released an article with a view to bury the dissenting voices. You can see for yourself HERE. Nonetheless, lets stick to the official version maintained by NASA.

Moon landings and space exploration remain one of mankind's finest moments. Moon and space explorations stand out as the most important landmark in the endless list of scientific achievements, and we can now wait for a manned mission to Mars.


Picture copyright: NASA, for the picture of Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin