NEW: Video of the Guatemalan migrant who burnəd a woman alive on a NY subway goes on a drunken rant.
He wanted to be "left alone to drink his beers."
The woman was sleeping when he lit her on fire.
Request every Bharatiya & Indian to Repost
#Bharat or #India is the debate?
* Keeping aside the question on the constitutional validity and political ramifications, I wish to approach these names in the cultural context
* Bharata signifies the 'land that nourishes knowledge' (Bha is light which indicates knowledge & rata signifies immersed or involved)
* Bharata's geographical extent finds mention in Sri #VishnuPuranam which says that this is the land mass locked between the Himalayan range in the north and the oceans in the south
* Four Bharatas have been noted as achievers:
- Bharata (s/o Rishabhanatha) who practised bhakti yoga, and born two janmas later as a person who had intellectual discussions with Rahuguna. He was called 'Jada' Bharata and Sri #VishnuPuranam states, this land mass was called Bharata hence
- Bharata (s/o Dushyanta) whose governance was highly respected and acclaimed
- Bharata (b/o Rama) whose bhakti to Rama and unquestionable service is remembered
- Bharata (muni) who blessed us with Natya Sastra literature
* Thus Bharata - the etymology, the land mass and personalities who have adorned this name - are all GREAT
At the same time, #India - the word is good, if not equally.
* Chinese accounts saw this land mass consisting of people blessed by the moon (Indu in Sanskrit is moon). Moon signifies knowledge. The stretch of Himalayas from Kashmir to Arunachal is covered in snow and looks like the Moon too. So they referred to this land as the 'one of Intu (Indu)' which became India eventually.
* Persian & Greek accounts saw this land mass as blessed with bounty beyond the Sindhu river (incidentally the river is called Sindhu, and an ocean is also called Sindhu). Eventually Sindhu became Hindu and India.
* In either case, in the past, people from far east & west, have called this the land of '(H)indu' which became India. IMHO, #Bharat or #India - both carry their weight. We shouldn't be spending more energy on this!