?Bharat helps you to know who and what you are?

Since 1996, Victoria Dmitrieva, the Russian origin Indologist, has been living in Bharat studying Sanskrit, Bharatiya Philosophy, Yoga and Ayurveda. After graduating in English from the St Petersburg State University, Russia, she took Master’s degree from McGill University in Religious Studies (Montreal, Canada). Extensively travelling all over Bharat, for the past several years, she has been introducing foreigners, particularly, Russians to Bharat and its unique Hindu culture. In this exclusive interview with Pradeep Krishnan for Organiser, Victoria talked about Bharat, Sanatan Dharma, Christianity and Communism in Russia and her book. Excerpts:

My attraction towards Hinduism started from the attraction to India that began while I was 9 or 10. I was born to engineer parents in St. Petersberg on the eve of New Year, during the Iron Curtain period. As my parents had nothing to do with India, I cannot explain the reasons for my incredible attraction towards the distant land of India logically. Now, I can only say that it was due to my poorvajanma and its samskaras. As a child, I used to recognise anything Bharatiya; Music, dance, art forms, etc. I always feel that my soul, my motherland is Bharat. During my childhood days, the only link I had with India was seeing some Hindi movies.

For anyone who is not satisfied with his/her present life situation; education, marriage, job, etc. and is having the inner quest seeking answers to the mystery of life, India is a land of great opportunities. Bharat has all the answers to existential questions like What is life?, Who am I?, Why I was born?, What am I doing?, Is there life after death? etc.

Though I had lived in several countries, such as USA, Canada, Russia, etc., I feel totally at home only in India. Despite all her problems; environmental, political, sociological, Bharat is very livable for in this country life has very different dimensions and is moving and constantly changing like the holy Sri Chakra, which has many dimensions. Here in Bharat, anybody can find something for him/her, which will help one to grow according to one’s inner quest. Bharat is a country of life with so many ideas and concepts. That is why I chose it as my place to live.

As my choice to settle down in Bharat was spontaneous and natural, I had no expectations or aims. The decision was a culmination of my feelings and research. For quite some time, I have been translating difficult Hindu texts to Russian and have already published some books. As Bharat had helped me to realise my dreams, I decided to dedicate my life and work to Bharat. I am just a servant or soldier of Bharat Mata, without any specific aim.

Please note that Bharatiya Philosophy, having different schools of thought with the same root is not monolithic. Generally, in Bharat, philosophy is termed darshana, derived from the Sanskrit root dish, which means to see. To ‘see’ the truth or to directly know the rashasya of the Universe and human beings, not with mere intellectual arguments. The way of the rishis or the seers was to have direct knowledge of existence, intricacies of the functioning of the Universe, with the help of certain yogic and spiritual methods. On the other hand, western philosophers, with some exceptions, always based their understanding on reasoning, logic and intellect. They consider the human intellect as the main mechanism in knowing the world in its totality. Bharatiya Rishis found that intellect is not always trusted worthy and hence not reliable. There are other ways to see the reality.

From my young days, along with the great attraction to India, I was planning to learn Sanskrit. As the whole society was under the constant watch of KGB spies, I could not learn Sanskrit and oriental studies. I studied Sanskrit, the Devabhasha, later and realised that it has an incredible ability to refine our minds. If one studies the complicated works of Grammar such as Panini or Ashtadyayi, it will change one’s mind and life. Study of Sanskrit is a very powerful instrument to solve many of the human problems.

I have recorded my extensive travels in India for 18 and the years, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and my meetings with remarkable people and the experiences I had while travelling the length and breadth of Bharat. The book has been published in Russian in Moscow and will soon be published in Bharat. Bharat gives one life; Bharat helps you to know who and what you are.

Yes, they did this to a large extent, but could not completely erase the essence of that culture as they did to many other cultures of the world. The native culture, which is much more human, loving, compassionate is still followed by the Siberian people. For them, there is no concept of primordial sin, one born with the burden of inherent guilt.

What Communists preach and what they practice are poles apart. They speak about equality, brotherhood, etc., but in practice, they never treated all the people as equals. Like Hitler, Comrade Stalin and his Henchmen massacred millions of people and lakhs were sent to labour camps. Without exception, this brutality had happened in all the Communist countries. In the novel 1984, George Orwell, a genius, had portrayed all the defects of communism. In a communist regime, no one is free to follow his/her interests, whether it is literature, poetry, art or anything. I was 25 when USSR collapsed, and the people are thankful to Gorbachev for exposing the brutality of Communists. Under communist hegemony, people can never remain happy and free.

I consider the Kerala Communists as crazy as they are still worshipping Stalin by putting his picture everywhere. Seeing hammer and sickle posters on the roadside in Kerala really makes me sick. Won’t they read books? People should be educated about the dangers of communism. Surprisingly, while the communist leaders of Bengal and Kerala are atheistic, the cadres are staunch believers!