“First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you. I know where the shoe pinches. I have gained a little experience. You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet, and you feel yourselves as men.” Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), Vedanta in its Application to Indian Life
“And the more I read the Upanishads, my friends, my countrymen, the more I weep for you, for therein is the great practical application. Strength, strength for us. What we need is strength, who will give us strength? There are thousands to weaken us, and of stories we have had enough. Every one of our Puranas, if you press it, gives out stories enough to fill three-fourths of the libraries of the world. Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz how to make us weaker and weaker till we have become real earthworms, crawling at the feet of every one who dares to put his foot on us. Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength, and every time strength.” Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), Vedanta in its Application to Indian Life
Some passages from Prof Dorothy M. Figueira’s The Afterlives of the Bhagavad Gītā (2023), Oxford University Press. Many anecdotes about Heinrich Himmler (1900–1945) come from his doctor/massage therapist Felix Kersten[1].
“[...] According to Kersten, the Gītā was especially loved (Kersten 1953: 189, cited in Trimondi 32). Himmler had a ‘fondness’ for it. Kersten claimed that it was one of Himmler’s favourite books and that he carried the Gītā with him at all times. He ‘particularly prized’ the Gītā for its ‘great Aryan qualities’. Kersten reports Himmler was often in the habit of scrolling through his vade-mecum (a notebook or aidemémoire carried at all times) to recite quotes from the Gītā that he had taken down, along with citations from other sources such as the Edda, Ṛg Veda, Buddha’s Sermons, and his favourite astrological works” p.225
“The archaic warriors of the Indo-Aryans developed self-control in the Gītā. In Himmler’s Geheimreden, he presents them as a Herrenvolk that shows no Christian compassion (Barmlichkeit) (Trimondi 89). Here one is reminded of Hauer’s depiction of Krishna teaching Arjuna that it was his ‘hereditary duty’ to fight even when it entailed a repulsive fate and engendered guilt (Hauer 61). Hauer claimed that, in Indo-Aryan times, this innate duty was associated with one’s caste (Hauer 26).” p.225
“German belief demands no surrender to divine grace. Rather rebirth is tied to race; one is reborn ‘in the clan’ and ‘in the same blood’. p.223
“For Himmler, in modern times, the caste in question was his SS (Poewe and Hexham 2005: 206). Himmler could thus defend his lethal decisions and his call for detachment from their consequences with words spoken by Krishna to Arjuna that Hauer had disseminated. Hauer had systematically laid out the justification for slaughter by claiming that the Aryan warrior is called to act by his fate, even if his deeds are steeped in guilt; it was his hereditary duty (angeborene Pflicht) to perform such acts (Padfield 91–3: 403). p.225
"[...] He fully embraced the detachment in the SS and cited how, like the warriors in the Gītā, they should be detached from sorrow, pleasure, fear, and wrath (Poewe and Hexham 2005: 206–7)." p.227
“The most forceful image of Himmler’s appropriation of the Gītā appears in an episode described by Kersten. One day Himmler recited a passage to him of which he was particularly fond and often evoked. It is the memorable quote from 4.7–8:
"Himmler told Kersten that he felt this quote perfectly described Hitler; it was ‘made for Hitler’, who rose up out of the Germans’ deepest need. When the German people had come to a dead end, Hitler was one of those brilliant figures who appeared. Goethe had appeared for the sake of art, Bismarck for the sake of the military, and Hitler for the sake of the political, cultural, and military combined. His appearance had been ordained by the karma of the German world. It was preordained that he should wage war against the East and install Germanness in order to save the world (Kersten 1953: 189). Hitler was an avatar who descended to earth in a time of crisis in body, mind, and soul (152); he was a figure of the greatest brilliance who had become incarnate (152)." p.227
"The Gītā explained the appearance of Hitler as an avatar. It provided a template for what Himmler envisioned as the kṣatriya ethos, a fantasy he expressed as early as 18 March 1925, the founding year of the SS: Kschatrijakaste, dass műssen wir sein. Das ist die Rettung. Kṣatriya caste, that’s what we must be. It is our rescue/salvation.” "p.228
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| How Swami Vivekananda helped popularise yoga in the West, Indian Express |
“And the more I read the Upanishads, my friends, my countrymen, the more I weep for you, for therein is the great practical application. Strength, strength for us. What we need is strength, who will give us strength? There are thousands to weaken us, and of stories we have had enough. Every one of our Puranas, if you press it, gives out stories enough to fill three-fourths of the libraries of the world. Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz how to make us weaker and weaker till we have become real earthworms, crawling at the feet of every one who dares to put his foot on us. Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength, and every time strength.” Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), Vedanta in its Application to Indian Life
Some passages from Prof Dorothy M. Figueira’s The Afterlives of the Bhagavad Gītā (2023), Oxford University Press. Many anecdotes about Heinrich Himmler (1900–1945) come from his doctor/massage therapist Felix Kersten[1].
“[...] According to Kersten, the Gītā was especially loved (Kersten 1953: 189, cited in Trimondi 32). Himmler had a ‘fondness’ for it. Kersten claimed that it was one of Himmler’s favourite books and that he carried the Gītā with him at all times. He ‘particularly prized’ the Gītā for its ‘great Aryan qualities’. Kersten reports Himmler was often in the habit of scrolling through his vade-mecum (a notebook or aidemémoire carried at all times) to recite quotes from the Gītā that he had taken down, along with citations from other sources such as the Edda, Ṛg Veda, Buddha’s Sermons, and his favourite astrological works” p.225
“The archaic warriors of the Indo-Aryans developed self-control in the Gītā. In Himmler’s Geheimreden, he presents them as a Herrenvolk that shows no Christian compassion (Barmlichkeit) (Trimondi 89). Here one is reminded of Hauer’s depiction of Krishna teaching Arjuna that it was his ‘hereditary duty’ to fight even when it entailed a repulsive fate and engendered guilt (Hauer 61). Hauer claimed that, in Indo-Aryan times, this innate duty was associated with one’s caste (Hauer 26).” p.225
“German belief demands no surrender to divine grace. Rather rebirth is tied to race; one is reborn ‘in the clan’ and ‘in the same blood’. p.223
“For Himmler, in modern times, the caste in question was his SS (Poewe and Hexham 2005: 206). Himmler could thus defend his lethal decisions and his call for detachment from their consequences with words spoken by Krishna to Arjuna that Hauer had disseminated. Hauer had systematically laid out the justification for slaughter by claiming that the Aryan warrior is called to act by his fate, even if his deeds are steeped in guilt; it was his hereditary duty (angeborene Pflicht) to perform such acts (Padfield 91–3: 403). p.225
"[...] He fully embraced the detachment in the SS and cited how, like the warriors in the Gītā, they should be detached from sorrow, pleasure, fear, and wrath (Poewe and Hexham 2005: 206–7)." p.227
“The most forceful image of Himmler’s appropriation of the Gītā appears in an episode described by Kersten. One day Himmler recited a passage to him of which he was particularly fond and often evoked. It is the memorable quote from 4.7–8:
‘Sooft der Menschen Sinn für Recht und Wahrheit verschwunden ist und Ungerechtigkeit die Welt regiert, wer ich aufs Neu geboren, so will es das Gesetz. Ich trage kein Verlangen nach Gewinn.’
‘Whenever men lose respect for the law and truth, and the world is given over to injustice, I will be born anew. Such is the law. I have no desire for gain.’ (Kersten 152)
"À chaque fois que l'ordre chancelle et que le désordre se répand, je me récrée moi-même.
Je renais ainsi d'âge en âge pour la protection des bons et la perte des méchants, pour la restauration de l'ordre." (trad. Michel Hulin)
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| Hitler holding the "blood flag" |
"Himmler told Kersten that he felt this quote perfectly described Hitler; it was ‘made for Hitler’, who rose up out of the Germans’ deepest need. When the German people had come to a dead end, Hitler was one of those brilliant figures who appeared. Goethe had appeared for the sake of art, Bismarck for the sake of the military, and Hitler for the sake of the political, cultural, and military combined. His appearance had been ordained by the karma of the German world. It was preordained that he should wage war against the East and install Germanness in order to save the world (Kersten 1953: 189). Hitler was an avatar who descended to earth in a time of crisis in body, mind, and soul (152); he was a figure of the greatest brilliance who had become incarnate (152)." p.227
"The Gītā explained the appearance of Hitler as an avatar. It provided a template for what Himmler envisioned as the kṣatriya ethos, a fantasy he expressed as early as 18 March 1925, the founding year of the SS: Kschatrijakaste, dass műssen wir sein. Das ist die Rettung. Kṣatriya caste, that’s what we must be. It is our rescue/salvation.” "p.228
 |
| Mickey Mouse Army under the Rising Sun Flag |
Harada Daiun Sogaku, blending Zen and Bushido: "[If ordered to] march: tramp, tramp, or shoot: bang, bang. This is the manifestation of the highest Wisdom [of Enlightenment]. The unity of Zen and war of which I speak extends to the farthest reaches of the holy war [now under way]." Zen at War, 1997, Brian Victoria
DT Suzuki: “Let us then shuffle off this mortal coil whenever it becomes necessary, and not raise a grunting voice against the fates. . . . Resting in this conviction, Buddhists carry the banner of Dharma over the dead and dying until they gain final victory.” (1906). “The Zen Sect of Buddhism,” Journal of the Pali Text Society, p. 34.
DT Suzuki: “Let us then shuffle off this mortal coil whenever it becomes necessary, and not raise a grunting voice against the fates. . . . Resting in this conviction, Buddhists carry the banner of Dharma over the dead and dying until they gain final victory.” (1906). “The Zen Sect of Buddhism,” Journal of the Pali Text Society, p. 34.
“There is no such thing as abstract Marxism, only concrete Marxism… The Sinofication of Marxism – that is, making certain that its manifestation is imbued with Chinese peculiarities – is a problem that must be understood and solved by the party without delay.” Mao Zedong, 1938
“The Red Army is like a furnace in which all captured soldiers are melted down and transformed the moment they come over.” Mao Zedong on the Red Army
“Liberal ideas are extremely harmful in a revolutionary collective. They are a corrosive that eats away unity, undermines cohesion, causes apathy and creates dissension. It robs the revolutionary ranks of compact organisation and strict discipline, prevents policies from being carried through and alienates the party structure from the masses.” Mao Zedong, 1937
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| End scene Full Metal Jacket, singing the Mickey Mouse March |
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: "Today... is Christmas! There will be a magic show at zero-nine-thirty! Chaplain Charlie will tell you about how the free world will conquer Communism with the aid of God and a few Marines! God has a hard-on for Marines because we kill everything we see! He plays His games, we play ours! To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls! God was here before the Marine Corps! So you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps! Do you ladies understand?” Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: "Today, you people are no longer maggots. Today, you are Marines. You're part of a brotherhood. From now on until the day you die, wherever you are, every Marine is your brother. Most of you will go to Vietnam. Some of you will not come back. But always remember this: Marines die. That's what we're here for. But the Marine Corps lives forever. And that means YOU live forever.” Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick
Pogue Colonel: "Son, all I've ever asked of my marines is that they obey my orders as they would the word of God. We are here to help the Vietnamese, because inside every gook there is an American trying to get out. It's a hardball world, son. We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over.” Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle. It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. You will become dead marines and then you will be in a world of shit because marines are not allowed to die without permission. Do you maggots understand?” Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick
Solarixx on Flickr, "i'm in a world of shit,yes...but i am alive and i am not afraid" (end line of Joker in Full Metal Jacket)
Mickey Mouse March
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse!
Mickey Mouse!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse club
We'll have fun
We'll be new faces
High! High! High! High!
We'll do things and
We'll go places
All around the world
We'll go marching
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse!
Mickey Mouse!
Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
***
MàJ "Le succès électoral de M. Narendra Modi depuis 2014 repose sur la combinaison sans précédent d’un style populiste et hindutva. Ce mouvement nationaliste hindou s’appuie sur le Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Corps national des volontaires, RSS), une organisation paramilitaire née en 1925. Son projet : muscler les jeunes hindous tant au plan physique qu'au plan moral pour «résister» aux musulmans, accusés de menacer la majorité."
Narendra Modi, une autre idée de la démocratie, Christophe Jaffrelot, Le Monde diplomatique, avril 2024.
Narendra Modi, une autre idée de la démocratie, Christophe Jaffrelot, Le Monde diplomatique, avril 2024.
[1] Kersten, Felix. The Kersten Memoirs, 1940–45. Introduction by H.R. Trevor-Roper. Translated by Constantine Fitzgibbon and James Oliver. New York: The Macmillan Co, 1957.
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