hindus

"The spirit and determination of the Ukrainian people and President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy continue to inspire us all. Ukraine’s armed forces are driven, disciplined, and better-trained - and they are winning"

"There is a common thread to many of the heart-wrenching stories the Advisory Panel heard. At their core are the lost – but potentially powerful – contributions of the defense team who leave the organization because the price they would have to pay to persevere in the organization would be unbearable"

"I believe fundamentally in the importance of having women at the decision-making table in many capacities, in every institution"

"In this new world, Canada’s geographic position no longer provides the same protection that it once did. And in this new world, the security environment facing Canada is less secure, less predictable and more chaotic"

"I've continually said that my top priority is to make sure that all members of our armed forces are protected and respected when they put on a uniform in service of this country"

"Canada condemns these actions and I personally am disgusted by them as they are reprehensible and a completely unwarranted and illegal intrusion into territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine."

"The persons of these Charans were regarded as sacred and every Rajput would treat them with the greatest respect. Rulers would reward them with hereditary grants of land known as jagirs, at feasts they would be invited to eat first, and whenever they came into a ruler’s presence he would rise to greet them, for ‘Charans were very strong supporters of the Rajputs and the Rajputs were very strong well-wishers of this community’."

"The Charans of Marwar have also played an important role in hours of need. According to the Achaldaskhichi-Vachanika Charan Magha, Sadau and Napau girded their loins against Muslim arms. In the year 1615 A.D., Narhar Charan fell fighting in the action of Sur Singh against Kishan Singh of Kishangarh. In the famous field of Dharmat in 1658 A.D., Jagmal Khadiya made his end as a valiant warrior. In the battle of Delhi when Durgadas planned the rescue of Ajit Singh, Charan Sandu and Mishan Ratan distinguished themselves as martyrs for the cause of their land. Charan Jogidas, Mishan Bharmal, Sarau, Asal Dhanu and Vithu Kanau were among the chosen brave warriors who escorted prince Akbar through his way to Shambhaji’s court."

"Even the ruthless Turk, Jamshid Khan, set up a protecting tablet in favour of the Charans of Marla, recording their exemption from dand contributions, and that there should be no increase in duties, with threats to all who should injure the community. As usual, the sun and moon are appealed to as witnesses of good faith, and sculptured on the stone. Even the forester Bhil and mountain Mer have set up their signs of immunity and protection to the chosen of Hinglaj; and the figures of a cow and its kheri (calf), carved in rude relief, speak the agreement that they should not be slain or stolen within the limits of Marla."

"Marla is an excellent township, inhabited by a community of Charans, of the tribe Kachhela, who are Banjaras (carriers) by profession, though poets by birth. The alliance is a curious one, and would appear incongruous, were not gain the object generally in both cases. It was the sanctity of their office which converted our Bardais into Banjaras, for their persons being sacred, the immunity extended likewise to their goods, and saved them from all imposts; so that in process of time they became the free-traders of Rajputana. I was highly gratified with the reception I received from the community, which collectively advanced to me at some distance from the town. The procession was headed by the village-band, and all the fair Charanis, who, as they approached, gracefully waved their scarfs over me, until I was fairly made captive by the muses of Marla! It was a novel and interesting scene: the manly persons of the Charans, clad in the flowing white robe, with the high loose folded turban inclined on one side, from which the mala, or chaplet, was gracefully suspended; the Naiks, or leaders, with their massive necklaces of gold, with the image of the pitrideva (manes) depending therefrom, gave the whole an air of opulence and dignity. The females were uniformly attired in a skirt of dark brown camlet, having a bodice of light-coloured stuff, with gold ornaments worked into their fine black hair; and all had the favourite churis, or rings of hathi-dant (elephant’s tooth), covering the arm, from the wrist to the elbow, and even above it. Never was there a nobler subject for the painter in any age or country; it was one which Salvator Rosa would have seized, full of picturesque contrasts: the rich dark tints of the female attire harmonizing with the white garments of their husbands; but it was the mien, the expression, the gestures, denoting that though they paid homage they expected a full measure in return. And they had it; for if ever there was a group which bespoke respect for the natural dignity of man and his consort, it was the Charan community of Marla."

"Monuments to Warriors—Dabhi is the line of demarcation between Mewar and Bundi, being itself in the latter State, in the district of Loecha,—dreary enough! It produces, however, rice and makkai, or Indian corn, and some good patches of wheat. We passed the cairns, composed of loose stones, of several Rajputs slain in defending their cattle against the Minas of the Kairar. I was particularly struck with that of a Charan bard, to whose memory they have set up a paliya, or tombstone, on which is his effigy, his lance at rest, and shield extended, who most likely fell defending his tanda."

"‘We never refused a Charan,’ declares Maharani Anant Kunverba, Rajmata of the coastal state of Porbandar. ‘They are supposed to curse one and people are rather frightened of their curses. Even if you want to refuse or feel that they don’t need any help, it’s something that a Rajput never does.’"

"In them we have a combination of the traditional characteristics of the Brahmin and the Kshatriyas. Like the Brahmins, they adopted literary pursuits and accepted gifts. Like the Rajput, they worshipped Shakti and engaged in military activities. They stood at the front gate of the fort to receive the first blow of the sword."

"The Charan was not the proverbial strife monger between rival clans adding fuel to the fire of fray on a point of honour; he was rather an agent of peace in the feud-torn land of the Rajputs. The typical Charan of Rajputana was fearless of speech, true to his word unto death, kindly and charitable to all, and genuinely devoted to his country's good and the welfare of the Kshatriyas particularly. The Charan, though as sensitive and proud as the Rajput, excelled the Rajput in humane virtues, moral courage and political morality. His weapon against the Rajput was only his moral force backed by superstition; namely, the threat to kill himself and thereby bring upon the obdurate Rajput the wrath of gods. The Charan was classed with "the cow and the Brahman," whose slaughter was forbidden to the Rajput. Next to the Rajput the Charan only enjoyed the privilege of giving sarna (protection) under his roof. When rival septs living in neighbourhood indulged in civil feuds, both sides would send their women and children to the houses of the Charans, which were a haven of refuge in a demilitarised zone as it were though within the striking distance of skirmishes. Thus the inviolability of the Charan's home saved the seed of the clan when its adults, were killed in insane feuds. A single determined Charan rushing in between the ranks of fighting warriors sometimes stopped blood-shed. If the exhortation of the well-wishing Charan went unheeded, he would kill himself with his katar in living faith that no Rajput would dare to cross the ban of Charan's blood. This was no fiction, but a long-established institution in the code of honour and morality barked by religious awe in that land of eternal vendetta."

"Whatever might be his origin, the Charan and the Rajput in historical times are found inseparable like body and soul. In the social fabric of Rajputana, the Charan occupies an intermediate position between the Brahman and the Rajput, and in character, he combines the characteristics of the Rajput with those of the Brahman. The Charan was the esteemed and faithful companion of the Rajput, sharing his ammal(opium) and half of his loaf in adversity, and receiving his extravagant bounty in prosperity. He followed his client chief on horseback to the thickest of fight, where the poetic fire of his gert of old gave a Rajput "the strength of ten" on the field of carnage. The post of honour at - the main gate of the princely castle belonged to the premier Charan, who haughtily demanded his neg there from bridegroom's party, and whose privilege it was to open that gate on the foe in times of sally and receive the first blow of hostile sword."

"Singhasan is the ancient term for the Hindu throne, signifying ‘the lion-seat.’ Charans, bards, who are all Maharajas, ‘great princes,’ by courtesy, have their seats of the hide of the lion, tiger, panther, or black antelope."

"The Charans are the sacred order of these regions; the warlike tribes esteem the heroic lays of the bard more than the homily of the Brahman. The Charans are throughout reverenced by the Rathors, and hold lands, literally, on the tenure of ‘an old song’."

"The Charans - In between the social order of the Rajputs and the status of the Brahmans there is a caste of Charans which exercises a great respectability and influence in Rajasthan. The speciality of the caste is that it combines in its character the characteristics of Rajputs and Brahmans in an adequate manner. In literary pursuit and receiving gifts from the Rajputs a Charan approximated himself to a Brahman. As regards taking of flesh, drinking of liquor, worshipping of Sakti and engaging in war he resembled a Rajput. He was an equal partner of his Rajput chief both in war and peace."

"Who uses petrol and diesel? Do we go to the vegetable market by cycle? It will keep us healthy and will end pollution. Is petrol and diesel necessary for our health?"

"Fear motivates us. Sometimes it motivates us toward what we want, but sometimes, if we aren't careful, it limits us with what we think will keep us safe."

"We think freedom means that we can pursue all our desires. Real freedom is letting go of things not wanted, the unchecked desires that leas us to unwanted ends."

"The less time you fixate on everyone else, the more time you have to focus on yourself."

"Negativity is a trait, not someone's identity. A person's true nature can be obscured by clouds, but, like the sun, it is always there. And clouds can overcome any of us. We have to understand this when we deal with people who exude negative energy. Just like we wouldn't want someone to judge us by our worst moments, we must be careful not to do that to others. When someone hurts you, it's because they're hurt. Their hurt is simply spilling over. They need help."

"Remember, saying whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, is not freedom. Real freedom is not feeling the need to say these things."

"When you try to live your most authentic life, some of your relationships will be put in jeopardy. Losing them is a risk worth bearing; finding a way to keep them in your life is a challenge worth taking on."

"The more we define ourselves in relation to the people around us, the more lost we are."

"It feels good to be around people who are good for us; it doesn't feel good to be around people who don't support us or bring out our bad habits."

"When we criticize others, we can't help but notice the bad in ourselves. But when we look for the good in others, we start to see the best in ourselves too."

"When we accept the temporary nature of everything in our lives, we can feel gratitude for the good fortune of getting to borrow them for a time."

"Instead of forever climbing the mountain of success, we need to descend into the valley of our true selves to weed out false beliefs."

"Negativity is a trait, not someone’s identity. A person’s true nature can be obscured by clouds, but, like the sun, it is always there. And clouds can overcome any of us. We have to understand this when we deal with people who exude negative energy. Just like we wouldn’t want someone to judge us by our worst moments, we must be careful not to do that to others. When someone hurts you, it’s because they’re hurt. Their hurt is simply spilling over. They need help. And as the Dalai Lama says, “If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them."

"Transformational forgiveness is linked to a slew of health improvements including: fewer medications taken, better sleep quality, and reduced somatic symptoms including back pain, headache, nausea, and fatigue. Forgiveness eases stress, because we no longer recycle the angry thoughts, both conscious and subconscious, that stressed us out in the first place."

"We are fighting not with our names; we are fighting with the name of our supreme leader Narendra Modi."

"Rahul Gandhi wears a janeu (sacred thread). We want to ask him - he is going to Ujjain - what kind of 'Jenau Dhari' are you? What is your gotra?"

"In many states, the rate of rape has come down because the prime minister gave women ‘izzatghar’ (toilet)."

"I asked Patra to recite one Chaupai of the Ramayana. He doesn’t even know one single word from Ramayana but I have the Sundar Kand (fifth book of the epic) on my fingertips. Does that mean I should ask Sambit Patra to go to Pakistan? No. But whenever I talk about economic issues, he starts shouting Pakistan and Imran Khan."

"Country knows...if there is a Prime Minister without the Gandhi family, then he is merely a shadow Prime Minister, a puppet Prime Minister with the strings lying with the 10 Janpath. In such a scenario, the country knew Singh's strings were lying with 10 Janpath."

"If I get ten or twelve boys with the faith of Nachiketâ, I can turn the thoughts and pursuits of this country in a new channel."

"Do not say we are weak; we can do anything and everything. What can we not do? Everything can be done by us; we all have the same glorious soul, let us believe in it. Have faith, as Nachiketâ. At the time of his father's sacrifice, faith came unto Nachiketa; ay, I wish that faith would come to each of you; and every one of you would stand up a giant, a world-mover with a gigantic intellect — an infinite God in every respect. That is what I want you to become. This is the strength that you get from the Upanishads, this is the faith that you get from there."

"It has been accepted now that the joy of art is the heritage of all and aesthetic activity and appreciation are indispensable aids in the enrichment and refinement of the human soul in general. Art refines our inner as well as our physical life and provides that satisfaction and joy which acquisitions and activities on a merely material plane can never give. As Nachiketa said, na vittena tarpaniyo manushyo. In other words, man does not live by bread alone. Music and dance, among the arts, have always had a high place in Indian aesthetics. They are conceived as having their origin in the Divine, which is itself described the Upanishads as the quintessence of aesthetic pleasure raso vai sah. Our arts embody the deepest experience and wisdom of mankind, and they have a spiritual import and purpose."

"A grander legend than Western literature contains, is the story of Nachiketas."

"I want to thank the outgoing Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. His achievement as the first British Asian Prime Minister of our country, the extra effort that will have required, should not be underestimated by anyone. We pay tribute to that today, and we also recognise the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership."

"The PM has a 'yes man' in position at the Treasury, who won’t resist pressure to spend more, if the economy starts to buckle under the strain of Brexit."

"My personal relationship with him is much better [compared with earlier PM, Boris Johnson]. He phoned me the day he became prime minister, gave me his personal number and we said we would work together on things like Ukraine, if there was a terrorist incident, God forbid, or security issues. But obviously, we would robustly argue with each other on everything else. So it is a different relationship, and a different relationship across the dispatch box."

"Conservatives will also need to move on to talk about the future. That is hard when today's problems are so pressing, but it will be vital for a governing party with a difficult past. Anyone who knows Sunak will testify that he is at his most animated, passionate and knowledgeable when talking about skills, enterprise, schools and opportunities. He is excited about the future and equipped for it. He is much more than not-Johnson and not-Truss."

"Every time there’s been the threat of a rebellion he’s backed down. The one thing you get if you win the leadership of your party is the right to say 'I've won the leadership and I'm going to do this, and we're going to do it and this is what I'm saying we're going to do with the party, and we're going to do it’. He doesn't have the ability to do that because he hasn't got a mandate."

"In our politics, we can argue vigorously, as the prime minister and I did over the past six weeks, but still respect each other, and whatever disputes we have in this parliament, I know that everyone in this house will not lose sight of the fact that we are all motivated by our desire to serve our constituents, our country, and advance the principles that we honourably believe in."

"Good morning, I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as Prime Minister. To the country, I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry. I have given this job my all. But you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgement that matters. I have heard your anger, your disappointment; and I take responsibility for this loss. To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success, I am sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved. It pains me to think how many good colleagues, who contributed so much to their communities and our country, will now no longer sit in the House of Commons. I thank them for their hard work, and their service. Following this result, I will step down as party leader, not immediately, but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place. It is important that after 14 years in government the Conservative Party rebuilds, but also that it takes up its crucial role in Opposition professionally and effectively. When I first stood here as your Prime Minister, I told you the most important task I had was to return stability to our economy. Inflation is back to target, mortgage rates are falling, and growth has returned. We have enhanced our standing in the world, rebuilding relations with allies, leading global efforts to support Ukraine, and becoming the home of the new generation of transformative technologies. And our United Kingdom is stronger too: with the Windsor Framework, devolution restored in Northern Ireland, and our Union strengthened. I’m proud of those achievements. I believe this country is safer, stronger, and more secure than it was 20 months ago. And it is more prosperous, fairer, and resilient than it was in 2010. Whilst he has been my political opponent, Sir Keir Starmer will shortly become our Prime Minister. In this job, his successes will be all our successes, and I wish him and his family well. Whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent, public-spirited man, who I respect. He and his family deserve the very best of our understanding, as they make the huge transition to their new lives behind this door, and as he grapples with this most demanding of jobs in an increasingly unstable world. I would like to thank my colleagues, my Cabinet, the Civil Service - especially here in Downing Street, the team at Chequers, my staff, CCHQ, but most of all I would like to express my gratitude to my wife Akshata and our beautiful daughters. I can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they have made so that I might serve our country. One of the most remarkable things about Britain is just how unremarkable it is, that two generations after my grandparents came here with little, I could become Prime Minister and that I could watch my two young daughters light Diwali candles on the steps in Downing Street. We must hold true to that idea of who we are, that vision of kindness, decency, and tolerance that has always been the British way. This is a difficult day, at the end of a number of difficult days. But I leave this job honoured to have been your Prime Minister. This is the best country in the world and that is thanks entirely to you, the British people, the true source of all our achievements, our strengths, and our greatness. Thank you.""

"On the Government benches life comes at you fast. Soon you might be fortunate enough to be tapped on the shoulder and be offered a junior ministerial role, then you’ll find yourself attending cabinet, then in the cabinet and then when the prime minister’s position becomes untenable you might end up being called to the highest office. And before you know it you have a bright future behind you and you’re left wondering whether you can credibly be an elder statesman at the age of 44."

"The 80th anniversary of D-Day has been a profound moment to honour the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our values, our freedom and our democracy. This anniversary should be about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The last thing I want is for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics. After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer - and I apologise."