“Anusandhaanam” is a Sanskrit word, we are all familiar with.
In today’s Independence Day speech given from the Red Fort in New Delhi by our Prime Minister Modi-ji, he used the word “anusandhaan” , the Hindi derivative of the Sanskrit noun. He said that on the 76th Anniversary of Indian independence , along with the national slogan given to us by two earlier prime ministers Sastri-ji and Vajpayee-ji — of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan and Jai Vignyaan— it is time to add one more: Jai Anusandhaan .
Both the Sanskrit and Hindi words mean the same viz.: inquiry, quest, investigation, research , Innovation …
The PM was urging the nation therefore to adopt and embrace a collective mental attitude of ceaseless search, an attitude of inquiring into ways to advance research and innovation in all fields and areas of nation-building …. Scientific, technological , industrial , intellectual and cultural .
The word “anusandhaanam” truly captures the ethos of the ancient spirit of India, a country which we know from history has through “anusandhaanam” fathered and invented a great many discoveries in the field of mathematics, astronomy, medical science, linguistics, art, architecture, music, literature and others. India for many centuries in the past was regarded as the intellectual capital of the whole world.
It is therefore most fitting that on the occasion of 76th Independence day , our PM has given a clarion call to the nation to revive the old spirit of “anusandhaanam” of India once again and to recommence its journey in pursuit of greatness and all-round development as a nation in the next 25 years leading to its 100th anniversary in 2047. This is indeed the perfect call to the nation at the right time and in the perfect and most forceful manner in which only Sri Modi-ji amongst all leaders in the country today can convey.
For we Sri Vaishnavas, a very small religious community of South India, what does “anusandhaanam” mean? The culture of “anusandhaanam” is actually ingrained in our bloodstream. Our ancestors always urged the community members to practice what is called “Nithya-Anusandhaanam” — the daily habit of reciting/chanting what has been learnt by generations after generations of descendants of a long lineage of Rishis and Acharyas who have left behind a legacy of great religious works in the form of mantras, stotras, shlokas etc. both in Sanskrit and Tamizh languages. The ancestors did not compose those works out of any sense of scholarly vanity or self-promotion . Their works were intended mainly to inspire their progeny to use the works as sources and tools of “anusandhaanam” — to ceaselessly inquire and conduct deep research into the content and import of the works. By doing “Nithya-anusandhaanam” of those splendid religious works our ancestors believed that posterity would be enabled to advance the frontiers of spiritual and intellectual knowledge —- “tattva gnyaana”— even further than they themselves had been able to do . Their works were their shoulders upon which they expected their progeny to climb upon and thereby be able to see farther than the rishis and Acharyas had been able to … “Nithya-anusandhaanam” , the ceaseless daily delving into the works of our learned ancestors , was intended to be a tool of research and innovation into the yet unexplored domains of uncharted Knowledge. It was meant to make “deergha-darshees” of us all —- greater rishis than themselves even who are able to see further !
The Sanskrit and Tamizh works of our ancient Rishis, Acharyas and mystic saints like the Azhwars and Naayanmaars of Tamil Nadu are not just mere religious devotional literature to be read, learnt by rote and chanted mechanically out of pious but purposeless habit in our homes, temples and in our assemblies of pundits or laity. The works are meant really to be studied deeply, inquired into penetratively , researched, plumbed to the very depths, mined and delved into thoroughly to be able to come up with new discoveries, new insights and new intellectually creative innovations. When that level of true “anusandhaanam” is carried out, without a shadow of doubt, it may be believed that the great religious works of ancestral India will by themselves reveal and yield to us ever deeper , ever more fascinating frontiers of “atma-gnyaana” and “tattva-gnyaana” , both spiritual as well as secular knowledge.
Let us as Sri Vaishnavas pledge today in our own small and humble way to revive, reaffirm and re-welcome into our lives that age-old habit and tradition of “Nithya-anusandhaanam” that our wise ancestors had always sought to instill in posterity.
In this context , I can only say that in giving the nation today on August 15, 2022 the new national slogan of “Jai Anusandhaan” , Prime Minister Modi has only echoed a very ancient tenet and practice of Sanaatana Dharma that was already part and parcel of the Sri Vaishnava daily regime in life called “Nithya-Anusandhaanam”.
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Bhaarathavarsha ki Jai!
JaiJawan! Jaikissan! Jai Vignyaan! Jai Anusandhaan! 🇮🇳
Sudarshan Madabushi