THE INDIAN HISTORY: MEDIEVAL INDIA

EXPLAINED: THE SANT TUKARAM TEMPLE AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister inaugurated the Sant Tukaram Shila Mandir in the temple town of Dehu in the Pune district.

THE EXPLANATION:

Shila refers to a rock that is currently on the Dehu Sansthan temple premises, and that for centuries has been the starting point of Wari, the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur.

The Shila Mandir

The Bhakti saint Sant Tukaram had sat on this piece of rock for 13 continuous days when challenged about the authenticity of the Abhyangs he had written. Nitin Maharaj More, president of the Jagatguru Sant Tukaram Maharaj Sansthan Dehu, said that prior to this, the saint had immersed his entire work in the Indrayani river; the work miraculously reappeared after 13 days, proving their authenticity. “The very rock where Sant Tukaram Maharaj sat for 13 days is pious and a place of pilgrimage for the Warkari sect.”

The Warkari sect

• Sant Tukaram and his work are central to the Warkari sect spread across Maharashtra. His message about a casteless society and his denial of rituals had led to a social movement. Sant Tukaram is credited with starting the Wari pilgrimage.
• The Wari sees lakhs of devotees congregating in the temple towns of Dehu and Alandi to accompany the padukas of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dyaneshwar respectively as they start for Pandharpur. Participants finish their sowing before they set off.

 

HISTORICAL TIDBITS- KABIR

THE CONTEXT: Recently, President inaugurated the Sant Kabir Academy and Research Centre Swadesh Darshan Yojana and paid tribute to the Bhakti saint, Kabir at Maghar in Uttar Pradesh.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to legends, Kabir is said to have departed from the mortal world in Maghar.
• The Bhakti movement, the Nirguni tradition and Kabir
• The Bhakti movement, which began in the 7th century in South India, had begun to spread across north India in the 14th and the 15th centuries.
• The movement was characterized by popular poet-saints who sang devotional songs to God in vernacular languages, with many preaching for abolishing the Varna system and some kind of Hindu-Muslim unity. They emphasized an intense emotional attachment with God.

The Bhakti movement, the Nirguni tradition and Kabir

• The Bhakti movement, which began in the 7th century in South India, had begun to spread across north India in the 14th and the 15th centuries.
• The movement was characterized by popular poet-saints who sang devotional songs to God in vernacular languages, with many preaching for abolishing the Varna system and some kind of Hindu-Muslim unity. They emphasized an intense emotional attachment with God.

Saguna is worship of God with form and nirguna is worship of God without form. There are two sides of the same coin. The Guru is the embodied form of the formless Absolute. He or she is none other than God himself because God is a name attributed to the Supreme Self when it chooses to assume name and form.

• One school within the Bhakti movement was the Nirguni tradition and Sant Kabir was a prominent member of it. In this tradition, God was understood to be a universal and formless being.
• Many of the saints of the Bhakti movement came from the ranks of the lower to middle artisanal classes.
• Kabir was a ‘low caste’ weaver (Julaha), Raidas was a leather worker and Dadu a cotton carder.
• Their radical dissent against orthodoxy and rejection of caste made these poet-saints extremely popular among the masses and their ideology of egalitarianism spread across India.

Kabir and his compositions

• Kabir’s compositions can be classified into three literary forms – dohas (short two liners), ramanas (rhymed 4 liners), sung compositions of varying length, known as padas (verses) and sabdas (words).
• Kabir’s works had great influence on Bhakti Movement- Kabir Granthawali, Anurag Sagar, Bijak and Sakhi Granth.

Kabir and his life

• Most historians agree on the following facts about Kabir. He was born in Varanasi and lived between the years 1398 and 1448, or till the year 1518 according to popular belief.
• He was from a community of ‘lower caste’ weavers of the Julaha caste, a group that had recently converted to Islam.-
• He learned the art of weaving, likely studied meditative and devotional practices under the guidance of a Hindu guru and grew to become an eminent teacher and poet-singer.

 

THE HEALTH ISSUES

EXPLAINED: MANAGING TYPE 1 DIABETES

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Indian Council of Medical Research (IMCR) released guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and management for type-1 diabetes. This is the first time the ICMR has issued guidelines specifically for type 1 diabetes, which is rarer than type 2 — only 2% of all hospital cases of diabetes in the country are type 1 — but which is being diagnosed more frequently in recent years.

THE EXPLANATION:

India is considered the diabetes capital of the world, and the pandemic disproportionately affected those living with the disease. Type 1 or childhood diabetes, however, is less talked about, although it can turn fatal without proper insulin therapy.

 

WHAT IS TYPE 1 DIABETES?

• Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the pancreas completely stops producing insulin, the hormone responsible for controlling the level of glucose in blood by increasing or decreasing absorption to the liver, fat, and other cells of the body. This is unlike type 2 diabetes — which accounts for over 90% of all diabetes cases in the country — where the body’s insulin production either goes down or the cells become resistant to the insulin.
• “Type 1 diabetes is predominantly diagnosed in children and adolescents. Although the prevalence is less, it is much more severe than type 2. Unlike type 2 diabetes where the body produces some insulin and which can be managed using various pills, if a person with type 1 diabetes stops taking their insulin, they die within weeks. The body produces zero insulin.

How rare is it?

• There are over 10 lakh children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes in the world, with India accounting for the highest number. Of the 2.5 lakh people living with type 1 diabetes in India, 90,000 to 1 lakh are under the age of 14 years. For context, the total number of people in India living with diabetes was 7.7 crore in 2019, according to the Diabetes Atlas of the International Diabetes Federation.
• The guidelines, which distinguish type 1 diabetes from other less common forms, also talk about how increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes due to obesity in the younger population can lead to confusion. Among individuals who develop diabetes under the age of 25 years, 25.3% have type 2.

Who is at risk of type 1 diabetes?

• The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, but it is thought to be an auto-immune condition where the body’s immune system destroys the islets cells on the pancreas that produce insulin.
• Genetic factors play a role in determining whether a person will get type-1 diabetes. The risk of the disease in a child is 3% when the mother has it, 5% when the father has it, and 8% when a sibling has it.
•  The presence of certain genes is also strongly associated with the disease. For example, the prevalence of genes called DR3-DQ2 and DR4-DQ8 is 30-40% in patients with type 1 diabetes as compared to 2.4% in the general population, according to the guidelines.

 

 

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

THE WORLD OF CRYPTO LENDING

THE CONTEXT: Major U.S. cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network froze withdrawals and transfers, citing “extreme” market conditions, sparking a sell-off across crypto markets.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is Crypto Lending?

• Crypto lending is essentially banking – for the crypto world.
• Just as customers at traditional banks earn interest on their savings in dollars or pounds, crypto users that deposit their bitcoin or ether at crypto lenders also earn money, usually in cryptocurrency.
• While savings at traditional banks offer paltry returns due to historically low-interest rates, crypto lenders offer much higher returns – at the very top end as much as 20%, though rates depend on the tokens being deposited.
• Crypto lenders make money by lending – also for a fee, typically between 5%-10% – digital tokens to investors or crypto companies, who might use the tokens for speculation, hedging or as working capital. The lenders profit from the spread between the interest they pay on deposits and that charged on loans.

Crypto lending has boomed over the past two years, along with as decentralised finance, or “DeFi,” platforms. DeFi and crypto lending both tout a vision of financial services where lenders and borrowers bypass the traditional financial firms that act as gatekeepers for loans or other products.

• The sites say they are easier to access than banks, too, with prospective clients facing less paperwork when lending or borrowing crypto.
• The total value of crypto at DeFi sites soared to a record $110 billion in November, up fivefold from a year earlier and reflecting record highs for bitcoin, according to industry site DeFi Pulse.
• Traditional investors and venture capital firms, from Canada’s second-biggest pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec to Bain Capital Ventures, have backed crypto lending platforms.

 

THE SECURITY AFFAIRS

38TH INDIA-INDONESIA COORDINATED PATROL BEGINS

THE CONTEXT: The 38th India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy Units of Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted from June 13 to 24 2022 in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca. 

THE EXPLANATION:

• The 38th CORPAT is the first post pandemic Coordinated Patrol between the two countries. It includes a visit by the Indonesian Navy units to ANC at Port Blair from June 13 to 15, 2022 followed by a Sea Phase in the Andaman Sea and visit by IN Units to Sabang (Indonesia) from June 23 to 24, 2022.
• As part of the Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), Naval Component under the aegis of HQ ANC undertakes coordinated patrols with other littoral countries of the Andaman Sea along respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) towards enhancing regional maritime security.
•  India and Indonesia have enjoyed especially close relations, covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions which have strengthened over the years. The two Navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) since 2002. This has helped build understanding and interoperability between both the Navies and has facilitated measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy, etc.
• The IND-INDO CORPAT contributes to forging strong bonds of friendship across the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THIS WORD MEANS: LaMDA

THE CONTEXT: A senior engineer at Google claimed that the company’s artificial intelligence-based chatbot Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) had become “sentient”.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is LaMDA?

• LaMDA or Language Models for Dialog Applications is a machine-learning language model created by Google as a chatbot that is supposed to mimic humans in conversation. Like BERT, GPT-3 and other language models, LaMDA is built on Transformer, a neural network architecture that Google invented and open-sourced in 2017.
• This architecture produces a model that can be trained to read many words while paying attention to how those words relate to one another and then predict what words it will think will come next. But what makes LaMDA different is that it was trained on dialogue, unlike most models.

 

WHAT IS WEB 5.0 – THE BLOCKCHAIN-POWERED DIGITAL NETWORK

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the former Twitter CEO announced his vision for a new decentralized web platform that is being called Web 5.0 and is being built with an aim to return “ownership of data and identity to individuals”.

THE EXPLANATION:

What do the terms Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 mean?

• Web 1.0 was the first generation of the global digital communications network. It is often referred to as the “read-only” Internet made of static web pages that only allowed for passive engagement.
• The next stage in the evolution of the web was the “read and write” Internet. Users were now able to communicate with servers and other users leading to the creation of the social web. This is the world wide web that we use today.
• Web 3.0 is an evolving term that is used to refer to the next generation of the Internet – a “read-write-execute” web – with decentralization as its bedrock.
• It speaks about a digital world, built leveraging blockchain technology, where people are able to interact with each other without the need of an intermediary.
• Web 3.0 will be driven by Artificial Intelligence and machine learning where machines will be able to interpret information like humans.

Web 4.0 (Mobile Web)

• Web 4.0 is still a work-in-progress, with no precise description of what it will entail. The symbiotic web is another name for Web 4.0. Interaction between people and robots in symbiosis is the symbiotic web’s dream. Web 4.0 will enable the creation of more sophisticated interfaces, such as mind-controlled interfaces.
• To put it another way, computers would be adept at understanding the contents of the web and reacting in the form of executing and determining what to execute first in order to load websites quickly, with greater quality and speed, and construct more commanding interfaces. The read-write-execution-concurrency web will be Web 4.0.
• It reaches a critical mass of online networks engagement that provides global transparency, governance, distribution, participation, and cooperation to vital communities such as industry, politics, society, and others. Web 4.0, often known as webOS, will be a middleware that will eventually act as an operating system (Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Web 3.0 Web 4.0 Web 5.0).

What is web 5.0 called?

• Web 5.0, the sensory and emotive Web. Its goal is to create computers that can communicate with humans. For many people, this friendship will become a regular habit. It was normal practice in the information society to gather data over the Internet and have it examined by people.
• People, things, and systems are all connected in cyberspace in Society 5.0, and the best outcomes achieved by AI surpassing human capabilities are transmitted back into physical space. This process provides new value to industry and society in previously unimaginable ways (Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Web 3.0 Web 4.0 Web 5.0).
• Achieving Society 5.0 with these characteristics will allow Japan and the entire globe to attain economic progress while addressing critical social issues. T would also aid in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

THE PT PERSPECTIVE

LIST OF SAINTS AND TEACHERS OF THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT

Saints and teachers of the Bhakti Movement	Contribution
Shankara (788 – 820 AD)	1. Integrated the essence of Buddhism in Hindu thought and interpreted the ancient Vedic religion2. Consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta
Ramanuja (1017-1137 A.D)	1. Exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism2. Literary works: Traditionally 9 Sanskrit texts, including Vedartha Sangraham, Sri Bhashyam, Gita Bhashyam3. Propagator of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta or qualified monism
Basava (12th Century)	1. Founder of the Lingayats2. Literary works: Vachana Sahitya in Kannada Language3. Propagator of shakthi Visishtadvaita
Madhva (1238-1319 AD)	1. Broke away from the doctrine of unity of God and the human soul prevalent at the time2. He preached “Dvaita” or dualism, where the divinity was separate from the human conscience
Ramanada (15th century)	1. Founder of Sant-parampara (literally, the tradition of bhakti saints) in north India2. Disciple(s): 2 poetess-saints and 10 poet-saints including Kabir, Ravidas, Bhagat Pipa, Sukhanand3. Literary works: Gyan-lila and Yog-cintamani (Hindi),Vaisnava Mata Bhajabhaskara and Ramarcana paddhati (Sanskrit)
Kabir (1440-1510 AD)	1. Disciple of Ramananda2. He believed in formless God.3. He was the first to reconcile Hinduism and Islam.
Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1538 AD)	1.  Founder of Sikhism religion2. Opposes idol worship and caste system, and taught worship of one God through prayer and meditation.
Purandara (15th century)	1. One of the chief founding-proponents of the South Indian classical music (Carnatic Music).2. He is often quoted as Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha
Dadu Dayal (1544-1603 AD)	1. Disciple of Kabir2. He was a supporter of Hindu-Muslim unity3. His followers were called Dadu Panthis
Chaitanya (1468-1533 AD)	1. Founder of modern Vaishnavism in Bengal2. Popularized Kirtan
Shankaradeva (1499-1569 AD)	1. Spread the Bhakti cult in Assam
Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 AD)	1. Exponent of Krishna cult2. He worshipped Krishna under the title “Srinathji“
Surdas (1483-1563 AD)	1. Disciple of Vallabhacharya2. Showed intense devotion to Radha and Krishna3. Regarded as the outstanding devotional poet in Brajbhasha
Mirabai (1498-1563 AD)	1. Staunch devotee of Lord Krishna2. Composed number of songs and poems in honour of Krishna.
Haridas (1478-1573 AD)	1. A great musician saint who sang the glories of Lord Vishnu
Tulasidas (1532-1623 AD)	1. Depicted Rama as the incarnation2. Wrote Ramcharitmanas
Namdeva (1270-1309 AD)	1. Disciple of Vishoba Khechar2. He was a devotee of Vittoba (Vishnu)
Jnanesvar (1275-1296 AD)	1. Wrote “Jnaneswari”, a commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita
Eknath	1. Wrote commentary on verses of the Bhagavad-Gita2. Devotee of Vithoba
Tukaram	1. Contemporary of Maratha king Shivaji2. Devotee of Vithal3. He founded the Warkari sect4. His teachings are contained in Abhangas.
Ram Das	1. Author of Dasabodh2. His teachings inspired Shivaji to establish an independent kingdom in Maharashtra.

 

 

                    THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 14TH JUNE 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about the Warkari Sect:

1. It is central to Western India.
2. Saint Tukaram’s message about a casteless society and his denial of rituals had led to a social movement

Which of the following is statements is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 13^TH JUNE 2022

Answer: C

Explanation:

• It is published by researchers from Yale and Columbia Universities.
• It is a biennial index.
• India ranked last among 180 countries ranked in 2022.

 

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