Introduction

There is a famous Upanishad story where Nachiketa goes to all extremes to find out the truth. In his pursuit he is not deterred by any impediment. As an enquirer he stands face to face with Yama, the God of death and shoots his questions. Yama is ultimately forced reveal all spiritual secrets of universe as the young Nachiketa won't relent.

This incident quoted from the 'Shruti" of Vedic tradition is the most appropriate to create a ground for dispassionate inquiry about self, our country, our civilization. There are no roads that should be left untraveled or no proverbial stone that should be left unturned. The history of Indian civilization is of grand twists and turns. An eternal flowing river from Himalayas to the Indian Ocean. Whatever be the compulsions of contemporary existence, the spirit of Nachiketa is akin to a Himalayan glacier which is perennial source of what we call the flow of our civilization. The unhindered uninhibited inquiry is what keeps the water afresh. It binds us to nothing and makes oneself responsible to delve into new interpretations. That is precisely the reason why this civilization throws giants among men and women every few centuries. It gives rise to people who are ardent critics of the ritualistic Vedas like Gautama, the Buddha. And same people who cannot think their life apart from the rituals make him an icon, a God. It is the spirit, a deep honesty of purpose, that symbolizes itself and become sacred with masses. 

One such giant was Dr Ambedkar. He has delved into many contemporary issues. He was completely blessed by the grace of the goddess of learning. The dispassionate inquiries led him to areas where people are afraid to get into even today. He could see the stagnation of ever flowing river of civilization like none before him. He could gauge the causes of centuries of deprivation of an ancient glorious civilization. He had the sagacity to rise beyond his own self, dissolve his ego and his personal experience, as he had set out to achieve a far bigger target. Hence, he is never bitter. Not when he is analysing history, not when he is drafting Constitution of a new state. He could see beyond the freedom movement He could visualize the importance of what it means to build a society. What should be the contours of a new social contract. What is going to be the role of each stakeholder in the societal frame. To achieve this, he went deep into history, he investigated modern experiences and reconstructed in front of us, the reasons behind them. In doing so he warns us of the consequences of status quo. It may lead to some momentary gains for some group. But as a civilization, this stagnation will lead to generations of pain and suffering. In ancient India he would be a rishi. He must be understood, his writings need to be discussed. As a society we need to pick the cudgels from where he left, as knowledge was his only means, pen his only weapon. Unless we do that, we will not be able to maintain the freedom that was won with so many sacrifices over so many centuries. That is the imperative to building a strong, new society. 

So, let us visit him again with folded hands and seek his blessings. The greatest service to him would not be a Bharat Ratna, but to visit him in his writings. Let us try to resurrect him in his original self, look at the picture he was trying to paint, the future that he was trying to warn us of, the road he was trying to show. As he had seen like no other, he knew how the river will find the Indian Ocean again!