Awaken Bharata

Awaken Bharata examines the 'idea of India' and reveals the importance of the land that is Bharat, a nation which is not simply a modern state since Independence but a country rooted in sacred geography and a mystic vision.The book outlines a strategy for a new intellectual kshatriya (or intellectual warriors) to defend the cause of dharma and correct the distortions of the information age, in which a Hindu response is often lacking or is ignored.It explores key values, views and practices of the profound systems of yoga and Vedanta and their transformative role for the world today.This is an expanded edition of a pivotal text of the modern Hindu movement and a sequel to Arise Arjuna. While Arise Arjuna aims at motivating the individual, Awaken Bharata emphasizes developing a collective and national vision.Dr David Frawley D.Litt. (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri), born in 1950, is an American Hindu and a Vedic teacher and Hindu acharya. He is the author of more than fifty books published in over twenty languages worldwide. His fields of expertise include yoga, Ayurveda, Vedanta, Vedic astrology and ancient Vedic texts. He has also written on historical, social and cultural issues confronting Hinduism and India today. Honoured with the Padma Bhushan Award, the third highest civilian award of the Government of India, in 2015 Dr Frawley has a D.Litt from S-VYASA (Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana), Bengaluru, and another D.Litt from Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Uttar Pradesh. He is also the recipient of a National Eminence Award from the South Indian Educational Society (SIES), Mumbai. Vamadeva, as he is popularly known, carries on the teachings of Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni, the chief disciple of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. He is a disciple of Sadguru Sivananda Murty of Andhra Pradesh and has been associated with many Hindu organizations including Swaminarayan BAPS, Chinmaya Mission, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Sri Ramanashram and the magazine Hinduism Today. He is the director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies (www.vedanet.com).Today there is a new battle going on over the 'idea of India', with some groups questioning if there ever was any real nation called 'India' prior to the British rule. Challenging this notion are those who claim that India has a profound national and cultural heritage since ancient times and was one of the main centres of civilization in the world, with its own characteristic ideals and practices born of dharma and yoga. The Constitution speaks of India that is Bharata, proclaiming this ancient name for the country. If we look at India as Bharata, the idea of the country and its unique identity and history become clear. Awaken Bharata is a plea for that eternal India to awaken and reclaim its esteemed place as the guru of nations, expressing once more its vast civilizational ethos. The book encourages a new vision of the country, linking its magnificent past with a more brilliant future. It emphasizes the role of a new 'intellectual kshatriya'-intellectual warriors of dharma-to challenge the inimical forces seeking to deny or displace India's great civilization.Awaken Bharata is a call for India to affirm its traditional identity as Bharata-the eternal land of great rishis and yogis-and to renew its vast dharmic civilization for the benefit of all humanity.