AkaalBodhon: The Call Beyond Time

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The word AkaalBodhon immediately brings to mind the story from the Ramayana. Sita was kidnapped, and to rescue her, Ramachandra, along with his brother Lakshmana and a monkey army, arrived at Lanka to wage war against the mighty king Ravana. At the time, defeating the powerful Ravana seemed almost impossible. To win the battle and rescue Sita, Ramachandra needed divine power, and so he decided to worship Shakti (the Goddess of Power). However, the time for invoking Shakti had not yet arrived. Despite this, Ramachandra invoked Shakti out of necessity. Pleased with his devotion, Shakti granted him the boon he needed to defeat Ravana. This early invocation of Shakti came to be known as AkaalBodhon.

But here’s my question: is this invocation called AkaalBodhon simply because it happened ahead of time? Could this interpretation be flawed?

Is There Really an Untimely Invocation?

In my view, there is no such thing as invoking God too early or too late. God exists beyond time, and there is no such thing as "premature" or "untimely" in matters of divine worship. The work that needs to be done is always completed at the right moment. When things don’t happen according to our desired timeline, we tend to label them as "untimely"—but this is merely a way of comforting ourselves. The entire process is governed by the cycle of time, and our understanding of what is "timely" or "untimely" is subjective.

A New Interpretation of AkaalBodhon

I believe that the term AkaalBodhon does not mean “the invocation before time,” but rather “the invocation of the timeless.” You might wonder: what does that mean? In this context, Akaal refers to that which is beyond time—something that time cannot constrain. It speaks to an eternal being who is the creator of time itself and who exists outside its limits. That being is God.

Thus, AkaalBodhon is better understood as "the invocation of the timeless"—calling upon a deity who exists beyond the rules of time. No religion in the world dictates that a devotee must wait for a specific moment to invoke God’s presence. God is always awake for His devotees, eagerly waiting for them to call upon Him, to ask for His help and guidance.

AkaalBodhon and KOBITASSROM

The AkaalBodhon publication originally started as the mouthpiece of KOBITASSROM, an organization dedicated to poetry recitals. KOBITASSROM began its journey in 2007, during a turbulent time in Bangladesh’s political history. The country’s governance was under the control of non-political individuals, and the military was exerting control from behind the scenes. At the same time, a U.S.-backed conspiracy to depoliticize Bangladesh was in full swing, with Dr. Yunus attempting to establish himself in the political arena.

During this period, leaders of both the Awami League and the BNP were being imprisoned, yet Jamaat-e-Islami's leader, Motiur Rahman Nizami, was meeting with the Chief Advisor of the government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, at official government premises. Despite the police claiming that Nizami was absconding, he was openly participating in meetings. The situation was both astonishing and disturbing.

The Long Wait for Justice

In the 2008 elections, the Awami League won and formed the government, finally starting the long-awaited process of trying the war criminals of 1971. However, the Awami League took considerable time to initiate this process, and this delay frustrated many of us. It was during this time that AkaalBodhon began to take shape as a publication.

The True Meaning Behind AkaalBodhon

The name AkaalBodhon is rooted in the story from the Ramayana, but it carries a deeper meaning. Time was never “untimely”—not then, not now, and not in the moments in between. We have always searched for a hero who will clear away all the misunderstandings, someone who is free from corruption, whose vision is sharp, whose voice is like thunder. This individual will call upon the people, and they will rush to him, mad with devotion. He will speak for all people and be a true representative of God on Earth.

We continue to invoke such a hero, tirelessly and faithfully. That is the true essence of AkaalBodhon.

Written by:
Editor of Littlemag AkaalBodhon
Date: September 26, 2024


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