A Good Samaritan

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नवरस

Most of the time, we hear that the goal of life is to attain happiness. But we often ignore all kinds of emotions we encounter on our way to attain happiness. Life is not just about happiness rather it is about emotions. Happiness is temporary but quest for happiness and various emotions encountered in the journey are permanent. Be it love, laughter, anger, empathy, disgust, anxiety, valor, wonder or calm. We, in Indian culture, call these as Navrasas. (9 essences)   

In this poem, I have tried to use UPAMA alankar (Simile figure of speech) to discover all these RASAS.

मैं अंत हूँ अनंत भी |
मैं क्रोध हूँ मैं प्रेम भी ||ध्रु||

भुजंग का मणि भी मैं
व्याल का गरल भी मैं |
पंक मैं, कमल भी मैं
विष भी मैं, पियूष भी मैं ||१||

द्रौपदी का स्वाभिमान
हूँ रघुपति सा धैर्यवान |
कर्ण की व्याकुलता 
हूँ सीता की शालीनता ||२||

दुर्योधन का उन्माद मैं,
कृष्ण का हूँ हास्य मैं |
मैं अंत हूँ अनंत भी |
मैं क्रोध हूँ मैं प्रेम भी ||३||

आनंद ही तो अंत नहीं
जिंदगी नवरस में हैं ||

Meanings:

१) भुजंग: साप, सर्प;
२) व्याल: साप, सर्प;
३) पंक: कीचड़;
४) पियूष: अमृत;
५) उन्माद: अहंकार

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संघर्ष

संघर्ष ही स्वभाव है

यथार्थ की तलाश में ||ध्रु||

यामिनी से लढ रहा

दिया हूँ मैं जो भीड़ गया |

फडफड़ स्वीकार है

मारुत का डर हैं क्या? ||१||

बाण से मैं क्या डरु

कर्ण का ये वक्ष है |

प्रहार  कर तू मगर

हार तेरा भाग्य है ||२||

मैं उच्च हूँ, मैं नीच हूँ

हूँ जहाँ भी ठीक हूँ |

लढ रहा अंजान से

स्वर्ग या पाताल में ||३||

संघर्ष ही स्वभाव है

यथार्थ की तलाश में ||

Meanings:

1) यथार्थ –उचित, सत्य;
2) यामिनी – रात, निशा;
३) मारुत – वायु, हवा;
४) वक्ष – छाती

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Fresh Start - Poem

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Whitewash - Poem

I tried to paint you in so many

Different colours in my memory

Each represented different

Shades of your personality

Pink was for tenderness

Yellow for exuberance

Purple was for love and,

Red for confidence...

I painted you in all colours, but one

Which I saved for myself

Sky blue for longing and limerence

Was always on my shelf…

I am sinking into your thoughts

Or drowning in your dreams

What is real, what is fiction

Blurs and seem more dim  

I realised your thought

Is eating me piece by piece

I am losing control over myself

In the process bit by bit…

I am trying not to enter

Again in that deadly zone

feet on the ground affixed

and trying not to get blown

So, I tried to whitewash all the colours

Of you from my memory

Red, yellow, orange, green,

Purple, peach, and ivory.

But before completely forgetting you,

a “tear of blood” spilled from eyes
On the whitewash and alas,

Gave me realisation How Much I Love You… 

~Digvijay Sanjay Patil

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Utilitarian Morality for Public Good

There has been a lot of talk about the celebrities getting preferential treatment in the central jails. There are arguments pouring in from the public that these celebrities should be treated in the prison like any other prisoner.

Surely law works same for everybody but does law enforcers (i.e. Police) keep their neutrality? It's the open kept secret that they do not. So what is the way out?

The system is designed in such a way that it breeds corruption. If a celebrity wants different treatment like better food, better prison cell, etc, he has to give bribe to all kinds of officers.

It is hard to stop this system and individual initiatives of some honest officers aren't sufficient enough. So what systematic shift is required to change this system which breeds corruption?

Here I present an innovative idea.

    • Golden rule -- "Ghee sidhi unglise naa nikle, to ungali tedhi kar leni chahiye."

Instead of using the principle of equality, why not use the principle of justice. The principle of "Justice as fairness" suggests - "If one person gets it, everybody else should also get it."

    • If the celebrity wants the better quality of food, he can have it on one condition -- whatever quality of food he eats, everybody else will eat the same food, provided he funds for that entire food.

    • If he wants clean water for himself, he has to only install few water purifiers in the prison so that everybody has an access to clean drinking water.

    • Same goes for bed, gymnasium equipment, etc

Such investment is not even penny for these celebrities and they will happily do it.

If we apply this principle, govt will not have to spend so much money on prison infrastructure development. Also, he isn’t getting any preferential treatment, as everybody is enjoying the same privilege. It's always better that everybody gets something rather nobody gets anything. 

    • As we are legitimizing this with proper guidelines and oversight agencies, corruption to get these facilities through prison officers will get reduced.

Professor Michael Sandel in his book -- "What money can't buy: Moral limits of markets" gives an example of prison cell upgrade by paying money. If you are sentenced to a jail term in Santa Barbara, California, and don't like the standard accommodation, you can buy a prison cell upgrade for about $90 per night.  

Problem with above system is, it creates classes among prisoners and does not pass the test of moral compass, as only wealthy are getting preferential treatment.  But the method which I suggested is more egalitarian and does not cross the moral compass of equality of treatment. It also creates a win-win situation for all. It can help to reduce corruption too.

Suggestions welcome.

Peace.

-Digvijay Sanjay Patil.

References:

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZjuVbw1lK4lq4liqMCNl7I/What-money-should-not-buy.html

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The Way We Handle Freedom of Expression

Do you remember the scene from House of Cards, where Frank Underwood urinates on his father's grave? I thought that was an obscene but subtle scene to show his unremorseful character, not knowing there are more pernicious scenes to come later in the show.

In season 3 of the show, amidst fighting for his presidency and the controversies surrounding it, Frank Underwood visits a church for guidance where he has the conversation with Bishop. Unconvinced by the response of Bishop that "Using fear will get him nowhere", he asks for a moment alone in the church. He looks directly in the eye of Jesus and says," Love? That's what you are selling? Well, I don't buy it." Then he spits in Jesus's face and later when he goes to wipe Jesus's face, the whole statue of Jesus crumbles down in pieces on the floor. Out of all pieces, he picks up a broken piece of Jesus's ear and says, "Well, I've got God's ear now."

Although anything in this sacrilegious scene does not necessarily concern me (as I identify myself as a Hindu Atheist), still defiling of statue disturbed me to the core. I wondered how this scene was received by the public in the USA? I searched and did not find any big violent repercussions except some Christian conservationists expressing their discontent.

To understand this scene, it requires maturity to know that the scene was not directed towards Jesus but to effectively show the ruthless, malignant, self-centered and Machiavellian nature of a politician who believes that, "For those climbing to the top of food chain, there can be no mercy. There is but one rule. Hunt or be hunted."

You must've guessed the purpose of telling this story. Yeah, right- the recent controversy surrounding Padmavati and Deepika Padukone. Surely, the purpose is not to give sermons of civic virtues from selective western example (as if they are any better) but the idea of society we want to live in and examples from anywhere should be welcomed to reflect upon ourselves.

The thing which really disturbed and compelled me to write this article is the threat given by Rajput outfit Karni Sena to chop Deepika Padukone's nose. Even metaphorically used statement, this shows how we use threats as a means to stop freedom of expression. If we want fatwas to be banned, such statements also need to be strictly dealt with. I cannot support the ban as ban itself is a contradiction to freedom of expression. Another reaction from Subramaniam Swamy that 'Deepika is not Indian citizen and funding for the movie coming from Dubai' shows the same attitude in a sophisticated way to curtail freedom of expression. As an admirer of Swamy does not make me blind about his irrational statements for a political cause.

The second thing which constantly disturbs me is apologist argument after every bad incident. Deepika reacted to the controversy by saying it is appalling and we are regressed. Surely, such generalized statement was uncalled for by her, as the film is receiving wide support from the majority of people and people like me are eagerly waiting for 1st December. But defensive reactions and open letters to her statement saying- 'She should not paint all with the same color', is I feel worrisome. Same arguments have been used by communities to even distance themselves from terrorist actions and not openly condemning it. I feel this is a selfish argument to save our own skin (Oh! We aren't part of that) but not out-rightly rejecting the evil. The argument that 'small fraction do not represent the whole' is blatant hypocrisy as the even significant number of people in India will always remain a minute fraction in percentage terms because of our burgeoning population.

So the elephant in the room is - what are the reasons for such virulent reactions?
First, the real reason is not the story of the movie (as hardly anyone knows what is actually in the movie and Bhansali also cleared the air by saying that there is no 'dream sequel' in the movie between Rani Padmini and Khilji) but the problem with characters played by the actors. It’s a failure to differentiate between real and reel characters of actors. Deepika and Ranveer are in a romantic relationship in real life which is making it difficult to digest their role as Rani Padmini and Allauddin Khilji. After their sizzling chemistry in Ramleela and Bajiraon Mastani, it is getting difficult to differentiate for some their real and reel roles, that seems to me the real reason for controversy. Had Shahid played the role of Khilji, would we still have gotten the same reaction?

Second, anything can be sold in our country in the name of pride and preserving dignity. Societies which are doubtful of their own heritage act in such a defensive way and masquerade it as a matter of pride to evoke passions. It is not just about Rajputs, but India in general. We constantly need verification of our Greatness from foreigners to feel superior and we act violently even with a tint of criticism. We can see that in 'India's daughter' documentary or in movies like 'PK' and 'OMG'.

The third reason is politics. Any violent action is beneficial for political parties as it consolidates their vote bank. Cultural nationalism gives votes to BJP, minority appeasement to Congress.

The problem I feel, is not the government, as both the national parties share wide consensus of 'regressive' attitude towards movies. Problem is our attitude of distancing ourselves from confronting problems. Today it is about the so-called Rajput pride and dignity, imagine a movie made on the symbol of your community where you feel 'historical facts' are altered, and still you show the liberal attitude towards the movie and protest (if need be) with legal and legitimate means, that time will come when Voltaire's soul will rest in peace.

Peace.

#DeepikaPadukone #Padmavati #HouseofCards #FrankUnderwood #KevinSpacey #RanveerSingh #ShahidKapoor #India


--Digvijay Sanjay Patil

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Challenge the authority !

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My Dear, Get a Companion not a competition...

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To Jump or Not to Jump, That Is The Question !

This blog is specially for those who feel dilemma and lack courage to start afresh.  I will tell you my own story to begin with.

It was the time of summer holidays of my 6th grade school. 2 months vacation. My father had a wonderful policy - he would never let me and my sister to just watch television or go to relatives' homes to waste our time in holidays. He would always tell me, "There is very less time in our life. So learn as much as you can. I would never ask you about money you'd spend in learning new art, always focus on your self-development, whether it is singing, playing instruments, computer classes, or any sport. But just don’t sit idle." So I thought of learning something new.

Swimming. What could have been the better choice? A refreshing blue pool with all happy faces splashing water on each other. (or so did I assume watching movies)

I joined the swimming pool the very next day where our coach was a tall cocky Punjabi man. It was my first day to the swimming pool. He taught us to breath underwater for 15 minutes and when we were comfortable in doing that, he asked us to come out and directed us to go to the other side of the pool. This swimming pool was sloppy from 4 feet depth for new learners and small children to gradually increasing to 18 feet depth (surely where you cannot touch your feet on the ground) (see figure)

So when he asked us to go to other side, we were wondering what he is going to teach there. To our surprise, he asked us to climb the ladder for jumping platform (which was nearly 15 feet high). Wind was blowing that day more that natural or so we did feel. We were there in our swimming costume shivering on that jumping platform wondering whether he is going to ask us to jump. We already heard many stories about him, about his strictness and discipline. 

No wonder he arranged us in a line and asked us to jump on his whistle blow. He only told us one sentence, "Keep your body streamlined while touching the water otherwise you will get hurt by impulse of water", while imitating his body in that manner to make us understand. 

Everybody was looking at each other and nobody was moving forward. It was a situation of dilemma- Jump or not to jump. He asked us twice and when nobody moved, he climbed that platform and asked us again. He got infuriated when nobody moved and said if you will jump on my direction or I will throw you in the water. And to set a precedent, he actually pushed the first guy from platform holding his shoulder. He fell flat on his chest. Red blue patch on his chest is the only thing we saw while hearing him cry. Everybody had now body full of goose bumps plus these bloody wind adding unnecessary drama to already over-dramatic situation. At this moment we actually understood that he is a no-nonsense person.

Now situation reduced to only two choices. Jump or get pushed by a very strong hand. I was the second one. I looked at the water from the platform, it seemed too deep. (see image) As he approached me sensing I wouldn't jump, I told him in rebellious voice not to touch me, I will jump on my own. As soon as he blew whistle, I jumped trying to keep my body streamlined. I drank some water while breathing and some entered in my nose giving nasty disoriented pain in head. Down below in water his son (who was happened to be a national level swimming champion)  pulled me to the corner of the pool. (Obliviously nobody knew how to swim) I realized it wasn't that bad which I assumed it is going to be.

This thing became routine. He will teach us for half an hour in shallow side and then it was time for jump from platform in deep side. Few people including myself lost our fear of height and water in 3-4 days, but some left his coaching never to learn again.

From this incidence I learned few things.

1. Problem is not as grave as your perception makes it. Change perception, and you will gather courage at least to tackle it.
2. Create a do or die situation. If there is plan-B, you will not give your 100% to plan-A. It's okay to have another plan, but use it only after every possible existing resources starves.
3. Everybody needs a stimulus. Have a mentor, who may at time look harsh, will guide you in your path. Or even better -instead of looking at outer motivation, make your own mind as your mentor that it will act as a catalyst.
4. Not everybody who looks like a villain is actually a villain.
5. Only courageous survives. Even god does not help those who cannot help themselves. (Read my earlier post -Being weak is not an option)

These are only few things I mentioned. You can take number of inferences as you understand the text.

Hope you enjoyed the story and thought behind it.

Peace. 

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Beware! You Will Fall in Love...With Me (Poem)

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Quora Answer: How do I convert to Hinduism?

How do I convert to Hinduism? Is marrying a Hindu guy the best way to convert to Hinduism?

I am a Catholic Christian girl and i am strongly attracted towards Hinduism. I find immense peace whenever I visit the Hindu temples. I love all Hindu festivals, they are filled with joy and happiness. Now I want to convert completely into Hinduism. I want to marry a Hindu person, for converting into Hinduism. Am i doing right?

My answer to this question on Quora:
There are 2 assumptions in your questions and both are very natural for a Catholic Christian girl.

1. You think there are some specific rituals to convert to Hinduism.
2. Marrying a Hindu guy would require you to be a Hindu.

Both assumptions are wrong. There are not set rules or rituals to convert to Hinduism. Hinduism does not aim at outer conversion but at inner spiritual practices. If you like something about Hinduism whether philosophy or spiritual practices like yoga, mantra or meditation, just inculcate that thing in your way of living without converting to Hinduism. Hinduism preaches the very principle that there is no need for conversion; the wisdom of the universe is available to all, if only they're willing to seek it.

For me, a true conversion to Hinduism is a change in faith purely for spiritual reasons that follow from an individual seeking higher truths. And for that, one does not need to formally convert to any religion. Genuine conversion of an individual happens over a period of time by evolvement of his thought.

Still you want to convert to Hinduism,what you need to do is to just declare yourself to be a Hindu. There is no central authority in Hinduism to banish you or dictate proper code of conduct. Many people find strong urge to get associated with an identity and there is no wrong in that. But in question you are asking, you want to marry a guy to convert to Hinduism. You should marry him if you like him and sure about spending rest of your life with him but surely not for converting to Hinduism.

Peace.

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Epiphany in Cacophony

I was alone in my room thinking about the uncertain future and suddenly I came across this thought experiment.

When you are completely alone and feeling sad or bogged down then you are surely not living in a good company. And in solitude, your mind is the only companion you've got. A good parent will always advice his kid not to mingle with the bad company. And as a parental figure of my entire self, I will have to change my mind which is spreading negativity in every particle of my body.

Then I realized, "How could I feel negative when every part of my body is feed by B+ve."

I remembered the transcendental words of Vikram Sarabhai, “He who can listen to music in the midst of noise can achieve great things.”
.

.

.
I've got lot of works to do folks! Chao!!

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Do we have any purpose here?

Newspapers these days are filled with lots of negativity. Sometimes you get numb by the things happening around you, by the things you read or hear. People in their twenties are dying for no reason, some are getting life threatening diseases, accidents, rapes and what not. I am afraid, most of the people are becoming indifferent about these news or just accepting it as part of their routine. You read these dreadful news daily in newspapers, on social media, on news apps but you actually think about it when something happens to the person you really care about.

That makes you think, what was fault of these innocent people? Do we just have to accept the idea of fate? These events lead us to think the suitability of 'theory of Karma’ or it is just a fallacy? Theory of Karma says, whatever action or even thought, good or bad, has a reflection in eternity and it strikes back when the moment is right, in this life or the next.

I wonder, what bad karma that minor girl would have done that she has been raped or that young boy walking on the road and got hit by the car? I refuse to accept the idea called fate. 

The idea of afterlife came in existence to give reason to such horrific incidents. When man did not had answer to these questions, he developed the theory that - innocent people are dying at young age or the young people getting life threatening diseases because some of the things happened in their past life.

Then comes another question in mind, if accidents and tragedies are happening every second, then we, ‘the survivors,' are here for any specific purpose? Has some super natural power has sent us for some purpose?

I feel- NO. There is no purpose. It is the way nature operates. It has no purpose for us. But don't feel bad about it because the good thing is- We, the humans, have developed our own purpose to feel lively; to distinguish ourselves from the animals. It is the ideology that shaped our thinking during the formative years is giving us motive, aim, and ambition in our life. And I feel that is a very good thing that we are enthralled by the motive and living our lives. It is pity that many people are wandering in abyss.  

See lot of poor people around us. Do they have any purpose except survival? Or are they just pawns to serve the materialist, aristocrat loving society? They might be having dream to send their children in good school or see their children becoming the officer, doctor, engineer or many of them might have fear to even see such dreams.

This theory of Karma is good in the sense that it prevents ordinary people from doing morally wrong actions, but I believe this concept is also 'anti-market' or against society based on innovation. If you fail in your adventure, this theory provides you safety value to say that 'Karma is bitch'. Misdeeds in previous life striking me back or any other things weak people say to justify themselves or to make them feel okay about the situation.

It is very important to find the purpose of our life even knowing the fact that nature has not decided anything for us and things are not going to happen by their own. We have to create our own path and we have to guide ourselves to carve the path in right direction. Let fate play its role, and we will play ours.  If fate works for our own good, it is Okay; if it works against us, we will fight.

Peace…

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Irony In Choosing Words

It is very interesting to note how we choose different words (or rather exploit them) for the similar situations. 

Let me tell you few examples.

1) In Indian society, we celebrate 'chastity' of women and 'celibacy' of men but not the other way around. We call Savitri as ‘Sati-Savitri' for her devotion towards her husband; and call sacred vow by Devavrata (Bhishma) as 'Bhishm Pratigya' for his bramhacharya pledge. After he took the celibacy pledge in front of all people, Vyasa says that- immediately the gods above rained flowers upon the head of Devavrata saying, 'bhishmoyam iti abhruvan' (this person is terrible). Indeed, a person who could undertake such a vow of life-long brahmacharya must have heroic self-control. As a result, Devavrata came to be known as Bhishma.

That is why, there is a question in my mind, why not celebrate the chastity of men? Isn't loyalty of man towards his woman important? Or why not celebrate celibacy of women? What about freedom to choose (about which we talk relentlessly day and night)- if she does not want to marry? Why put pressure or force a girl to get married before certain age? Aren't we hypocrite in celebrating one thing but not the other?

I will give you another example.

2) In 11th century, Rajendra Chola, the king of the powerful South-Indian Chola empire, had the powerful navy. He launched series of naval attacks on Sri-Vijaya empire in Malaysia and Indonesia and conquered the territory. We call these attacks as 'conquest'. We usually refer to Mughls as invaders, as Babar came to India from Afghanistan. So why we are so unhappy about 'invasion' by Mughals and happy (or feel proud) about 'conquest' of Sri-Vijaya empire by Imperial Cholas of south-India?

Did you see the wordplay between invasion and conquest?

There nothing to be happy about invasion by Mughals, but at the same time I feel, there is also nothing to be proud of invasion by Cholas to foreign territory. It was just the part of power-game at that time.

Act of showing dis-satisfaction to the government by organizing movements becomes mutiny in the eye of ruling class, and same movement becomes war of independence in the eye of masses. Invasion of one country becomes conquest by another.

Next time, we should be careful in choosing words, shouldn't we?

Peace...

P.S. Thanks to V. D. Savarkar for giving this ‘war of independence’ phrase for 1857 revolt; western historians called it ‘Sepoy Mutiny’

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I Am An Atheist And A Hindu !

(This blog is in continuation of this article)

For many people reading this blog, title is bit confusing or rather a paradox as it seems. How could a person be an atheist and affiliated to a religion? Those from western cultural background find this concept difficult to understand. Let me break it for you.

What I love about Hinduism is its pluralist nature, its vastness and abundance, its diversity or rather vagueness as many people would like to call it and non-adherence to any particular scripture. Complete subordination to any 'holy' scripture restricts free thinking and freedom to question. Hinduism for me is the value system and way of life evolved in this land over a period of time. When I say Atheism, it does not mean non-believing in God but questioning the existence of God, questioning the practises in the name of religion, or any other question which free mind can think of. Many different traditions, thoughts (rather contradictory many times) are allowed to thrive in Hinduism. And that is why I feel I can be an Atheist and a Hindu at the same time.

On Freedom:

One of the defining feature of Hinduism is freedom. Freedom to choose your way of worship or no worship at all, freedom to praise and even criticize Gods, scriptures and rituals. Charvaka questioned the supremacy of Vedas and still we call him maharishi. As Amartya Sen put in in 'The Argumentative Indian’ that, "Indian tradition is the tradition of argumentation." And as a prominent part of this tradition, Hinduism respects rational logic more than scriptures; pursuit of truth over any creed or dogma. Some aberrations had happened during the evolvement of this way of life. But instead of sticking to the books and rules which are written centuries before, this tradition is marching forward and that is admirable. Thanks to the revivalist movements of 19th and early 20th centuries.

On Diversity:

I am compelled to compare Hinduism with pre-independence Indian National Congress party in the sense of its diverse nature. (Don't take it otherwise) In Hinduism, there are innumerable school of thoughts which believe in different things. There are different devotional school of thoughts like Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, etc.; there are philosophical school of thoughts like Yoga, Mimamsa, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Vedanta and even the materialistic theory of Charvaka.

By this analogy, in pre-independence Congress also there were many different political thoughts allowed to be the part of it. Swarajist (Motilal Nehru and C.R Das), Socialist (Jawaharlal and Subhash Chandra Bose), moderates (Gokhale, Gandhi), extremists (Tilak, Lala Lajpar Rai), traditionalists (C. Rajagopalachari, Sardar Patel) and many other, were all part of the single umbrella family called Congress.

Some of these fraction split from the Congress, when they felt that they do not have enough voice in the party and some other fraction split from it when party took strong socialist programme. And that is why defining Hinduism in a single definition (as hardliners are trying to do in the name of Hindutva) will be a mistake.

In Congress, every fraction was trying to dominate inside party, to get the presidential seat, to form the government, to get maximum members in working committee; but today, in Hinduism all traditions and sects are living peacefully without much conflict. Because you belong to any tradition or school of thought, peace is the core essence in Hinduism.

(The Rig-Veda declares: एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति means "Truth is one; learned men call it by various names; The Upanishads declare that all the paths lead to the same goal, just as cows of variegated colours yield the same white milk)

On Evangelism:

What I like about Hinduism is its non-evangelist nature. It does not aim at outer conversion but at inner spiritual practices. If you like something about Hinduism whether philosophy or spiritual practices like yoga, mantra or meditation, just inculcate that thing in your way of living without converting to Hinduism. And also Hindus have freedom to adopt any new thought or thing they find fascinating in other culture or religion. There is no central authority in Hinduism to banish you from the religion or to dictate proper code of conduct. Most number of conquests and deaths happened in the history because of and in the name of the religion. Victors often tried to forcefully convert the religion of people from conquered territory. Where are Zoroastrians in Iran?

For me, a true conversion is a change in faith purely for spiritual reasons that follow from an individual seeking higher truths. And for that, one does not need to formally convert to any other religion. Genuine conversion of an individual happens over a period of time by evolvement of his thought. It can happen for an individual at personal level and not for the entire group. It is very unfortunate that many conversions happening now-a-days are not for change in faith for spiritual reasons but for political and material benefits.

Religion vs spirituality:

Problem with people is that they mingle religion (by religion they mean Gods, beliefs and rituals) with spirituality. It is surely not their fault as every religion is somehow mingled with spirituality. Spirituality signifies the search of truth and attaining the peace of mind. According to this definition, I am surely not a religious person, but a spiritual one.

Should Atheist visit temples?

What I find problem with many people announcing themselves to be an atheist is their hostility towards anything related to religion whether it is worshiping places, monuments or architecture. So, should an atheist visit a worshiping place like temple? I do not visit any temple regularly, but Do I visit famous temples? Absolutely yes. Not only temples but mosques, churches and shrines too. I must tell you, you need not be hostile towards temples even if you are an atheist. Because in Indian tradition, temples are the symbols of creativity, art, dance-forms, music, devotion and architecture. Look at the ancient temples. There are Mandapas (Concert hall) in front of inner sanctum sanctorum. In ancient times, music and dance performances were happening there. Even now, in many parts of the country that happens. Same applies for the mosques. Many mosques are excellent form of architecture.

Bhakti movement in Hindus and Sufi movement is Muslims gave new form of blend to Indian culture and music. Basic principle of this movement was, Music and devotion is the way to reach the God. Both music forms immensely contributed to Indian music. You may or may not believe in God, but it would be foolish to not believe in music. Do not cut yourself from the beauty of some well-designed worshiping place or music for the sake of being an atheist. Do not let your ego (as an atheist) come in between to appreciate the monument if not the sculpture of God(?).

On Mythology:

Being an atheist, you should not distance yourself with mythology, as they are more part of our culture than any particular religion. We have the great epics and mythological stories written in India. Mahabharata and Ramayana are the integral part of Indian society. Whenever we try to use analogy in normal situations, we often look to the characters of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Don't we?

If anyone would ask me one defining feature of Indian culture, I would say -"Storytelling." From centuries, we are telling stories and that became great epics. Mahabharata was an epic which told and retold for centuries by different people. Those who wanted to tell stories, they incorporated their own stories in Mahabharata. And that is why there is no single or original version of Mahabharata. During 400 b.c to 400 a.d, in these 800 hundred years, tells of Mahabharata retold by many people in different parts of India, that they became national heritage of India.

Mahabalipuram Temple, Chennai (Photo Credits: Myself) 

Many artists, carvers found inspiration in the legends of Gods. That is why abandoning the mythology for the sake for being an atheist is foolishness. Take Gods as protagonists of the epics if you are not comfortable calling him/her God. This tradition of retelling of epics is continuing in India even today and immensely contributing to the literature, as we can see from the novels of Amish Tripathi's 'The Shiva Trilogy' , and 'Scion of ikshvaku' or from Shahi Tharoor's 'The Great Indian Novel' or from Iravati Karve's 'Yugant' and books by many others.

Conclusion:

Atheism does not necessarily relate to negativity, so here I presented the positive nature of atheism. Like staunch religious people, supremacist tendencies found in atheists too. Being a supremacist is the cause of many problems world is facing. Practice rationale atheism not an extremist one.

If you do not properly understand what atheism in Indian context is and proclaims to be an atheist with prejudice about religion (not just Hindu religion) in mind, you will end up losing contact with the great cultural heritage, rich mythology, beautiful architecture, soothing music, and great dance forms.

And that is why I am an atheist and a Hindu.

Peace.

#Hinduism #atheism #mythology #temple #religion #INC #Veda #Culture #India #Society

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We Expect Media to be Vigilant Watchdog, Not an Anti-Establishment Hawk

Former President Abdul Kalam once wrote about Indian media - "Why is the Indian media is so negative? In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism and crime."

Then he went on to tell an experience,

"I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news."

In Indian context, it would be an Utopian daydreaming to expect anything like that from Indian media. But can we at least expect a little bit responsible media?

Let me tell two incidences in last three days.

Two days back, NGT issued notice against Sri Sri Ravishankar's 'World Cultural Festival' event. Condemnation by the media is based on limited information and reports presented to NGT. Art of Living Foundation has rejuvenated several rivers in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil-Nadu, many of which were dried up or contaminated by urban pollution. In partnership with United Nations Environment Programme, Art of living Foundation worked closely to plant nearly 10 million plants in 2 years all over the world. This has been barely mentioned in reporting the news.

It would be a lame argument to say that, earlier they have done good work so the government agencies should not take actions for this incident. But there should be proper assessment of- is there any serious damage to environment and biodiversity. There was not any mention, how this event is going to benefit India to improve hold of its soft-power all over the world, how it going to make India a spiritual destination and improve tourism. And even NGT is giving notice two days before the actual event? Date and venue was known and published in newspapers months before event.

Indian media is very keen to report that black spot ignoring whole white cardboard and if they couldn't find anything with bare eyes, that wouldn't discourage their endeavor to find that spot; they'd rather use microscope. Why is this obsession with negativity I don’t understand.

Another is incident happened yesterday. Media report says, " “We don't recruit Muslims”: Modi govt's Ayush Ministry

Media carried on this story without checking the authenticity of annexure to the original RTI query. What if the news is false? But media already created the animosity in Muslim community about the government. Who is going to do damage control now?

Media is creating an environment, where it seems Indian democracy is on the brink of extinction, which certainly is a lie. Earlier Indian left was showing the anti-establishment tendencies (it still does, but it losing its sheen), now media has taken that role. We expect media to be vigilant watchdog, not an anti-establishment hawk.

It is true that, people are consuming news in today's time as never before. Various apps, social media, online newspapers are becoming a tool to spread news or even brainwash people. We understand, it is simple principle of demand and supply. But in the race to provide first coverage of news, media should not put aside their professional ethics. It is true that in over-enthusiasm of first coverage, mistakes will happen. But what I propose is the same amount of media coverage and people reach to the news when the actual facts unfold.

Peace…

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BEING WEAK IS NOT AN OPTION!!

In one of the first lectures of Sanskrit in 8th class, our teacher told us a story. I remembered it quite recently for no reason but that story is worth sharing with you.

In ancient times, the ritual of sacrifices was very common. We already know from many stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana that practice of Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice) was quite popular and prestigious among kings at that times.

Practice of Ashvamedha was popular but was very rare. Only powerful emperors were doing it to show their strength and to impress Gods for prosperity of the state.

Common people were also doing rituals for sufficient rainfall, for getting more produce in agriculture, for having a baby. Have you thought that which animals they were sacrificing while these rituals? Mostly goat, lambs and similar animals.

So, our teacher asked us, why do you think only lambs, ships were offered as sacrifice and not strong, powerful animals like lions, tigers and elephants.

In very next day, he taught us this subhashita (wise sayings through poetry in Sanskrit):

This sayings is much relevant in today's time. Being weak is not an option for many of us. We have to stand our ground no matter what. Our history is all about perseverance. Those species adapted according to the situation and preserved themselves are remained on the planet. Those who didn't, are vanished. Every other species is trying to snatch each others bread.

We are living in the era where we might be feeling bogged down by competition around us. But we have to keep this in mind that, we have the sole responsibility to preserve ourselves and emerge victorious. It is up to us which option we choose. Either stay on the ground for eternity after getting hit by a powerful punch or again stand up for fight. Some people will surely guide us on the way, but actual task of doing thing is solely on our shoulders.

So, adapt to change, seek competence, empower yourselves and do nothing short of the best that you can do.

Peace...

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IS SUBRAMANIUM SWAMI A CANNIBAL?

I have been following many debates, discussions and writings of Dr. Subramanium Swami. And I must say, his debating skills are extraordinary. Swami might be vegetarian by diet, but when it comes to debates, he eats people alive. He tears their arguments in pieces. He can make Arnub Goswami to lower down his tone and bite his head off. He gets applaud of audience by defending most unpopular of beliefs. (Not that all people agree with him, but way he makes his argument makes you nothing but appreciate)

Few months back, I watched the movie called Thank you for smoking. In the movie, protagonist (Nick Naylor) is lobbyist for big tobacco company. He is a spokesperson and defends tobacco companies on T.V. channels and debates. He is the face of cigarettes on T.V. channels. His debating skill and convincing power to people about his thoughts (mostly unpopular) is astounding. In his own words,

"I don't have an MD or law degree, I have a bachelor's degree in kicking ass and taking names. You know that guy who can pick up any girl? I'm him, on crack."

In context of Swami, he could use this dialogue differently.

"You know that guy who can piss of any politician by making petitions? I'm him, on crack."

Whether it is A. Raja in 2G case, National Herald case or Jaylalitha in disproportionate asset case, he is the man behind it. Not only he targets people from other party, but when India-France deal was to signed to buy Rafale fighter aircraft, he told his party men that he will go to court if such deal happens.

Arnub Goswami is known for bossing his panelists, interruptions, stuffing words in mouth of panelists and many other nasty things. In one of the interviews on Sri-Lankan issue, Arnub was feeding words in Swami's mouth without reading a letter he wrote to Sri-Lankan President. Swami repeatedly asked him to read the letter instead of quoting it out of context and even when Arnub continued his own business, he called him "You're a laughing stock of this broadcasting world, with the amount of lies you tell. You are asking a question, you liar? You are such a dumbo! Mentally retarded you are".

Even going further, "You're a liar! You're an ignoramus. Don't be stupid. You're an ignorant man. Read the letter. Where is the letter? Why don't you read the letter? Why don't you use your brains? You're such a liar."

Who dares to call the editor-in-chief of top news channel a liar and dumbo who cannot hear a single word from anyone. (Remember never ever in case of Minakshi Lekhi?) But for Swami, case is different. When you have your facts ready, who cares what Arnub Goswami is?

Whether I agree with him or not? On some occasions, NO, I don't. But should that stop me from appreciating his skills and intellect? Surely not. He is mathematician, professor, politician, rebel, crusader, orator, lawyer and much more. Quick wit adds to his charisma. He is continuing the great ancient tradition of logical argumentation which India has. His quietly smiling visage graces just before tearing apart opposition argument, is the most fun part to watch. After going through his debates and speeches, many would think, isn't this TamBram (Tamilian Brahmin) a cannibal?

Reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=9&v=FykqCkDDrW0

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Let's not play this game (poem)

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Government is literally playing with words!!

Recently a lot has been written about the Modi government. This Government believes in banning, it is spreading communalism, it makes more promises than delivery, and much more. Amidst all criticism and applaud for the new government, media and most people did not notice that this government is much more innovative than previous governments. What makes me think that this government is more innovative?

See the names given to government schemes, authorities and foreign plans. Names of all these are very innovatively formed.

NITI ayog: National Institution for Transforming India

This government body has replaced planning commission and it is a policy think-tank. See the abbreviation is cleverly put as NITI, which directly means policy.

MUDRA bank: Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank. (Mudra = Currency)

From name itself, it is clear that it provides loans to micro-finance institutions at low rates. (It is government bank, so of course provides at lower rate)

AIM: Atal Innovation Mission

AIM will be an Innovation Promotion Platform involving academics, entrepreneurs, and researchers drawing upon national and international experiences to foster a culture of innovation, R&D in India.

AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Development

SETU: Self Employment and Talent Utilization Scheme

PRASAD: Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritually Augmentation Drive

HRIDAY: Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana

SATYAM: Science And Technology of Yoga And Meditation

Earlier government had JNNURM mission for urban development (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission). You will surely have to remember this full form to get idea of what it is. But when government gives names to scheme such as AMRUT, we can clearly form an analogy to link it with urban development like safe drinking water for urban households will prove to be AMRUT for them or self-employment will be the bridge (SETU) for poor people to come out of poverty.

From PRASAD, we can confidently say that it is linked with pilgrimage.

From doing this, government is also promoting Sanskrit-Hindi words in everyday language use. Which is a good stimulus as our language is becoming more and more westernized. Many times we do not find Hindi equivalent words.

I will not say, it is promoting Sanskrit only. Safety operation in Yemen was named as ‘Operation Rahat’. (Rahat = Relief)

2 days back, Prime Minister Modi has announced $150 million BHARAT fund, aimed at creating and providing support to disruptive start-ups in impact areas.

BHARAT to stand for ‘Better Health, Agriculture, Renewables And Technologies’ Bharat Fund derives its name from the ancient and also official name of India. Many people do not know this but it is our country’s official name. Article 1(1) says, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”.

So, all criticism is at their place, but I liked the way that government (or bureaucrats?) is playing with words cleverly to make it look more attractive and even rural people can relate to it very easily.

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Racial discrimination in India? Really??

Yesterday, I read a news in Firstpost that –Union home minister Rajnath Singh was addressing to students on the eve of Teacher’s Day in Pune and a student from South Sudan complained about racial discrimination faced by him. He said, “Whenever we go out in public places, especially in some college campuses, people call us ‘Aye Kaalia or Blackie’.” 

I was not shocked to know about this, but it concerned me. Thousands of students, graduates from India are going to western countries daily for education and work. Thousands of laborers are going to Gulf countries, Europe, America to earn their meal. Many of them are already victim of this racial discrimination.

Many times Indian government shame these countries for not treating Indian citizens equally. We get frustrated when we hear the news like some doctor or engineer is killed out of racial discrimination. I will tell you one incident. Four months back, one of my friend got internship in Australia and when we came to know about this, we mocked him, “don’t get killed, we don’t want to hear your news from television.” 

Conversation like this happens in fun mode, still that shows the deep impression of those news in our mind. Racial discrimination in India is surely not that extreme. It is just limited up to mocking someone about their color. But why this also should happen?

This is the huge loss for India on economic basis. As tourism industry get affected by such news. Also students from foreign countries would not be enthusiastic to pursue their higher studies in India, if such news popping up very frequently. More than economic, it is also enormous loss for India on moral grounds. 

I can see, poisonous seeds of British colonial legacy germinated in here. We have to remove them completely. And this will not just happen by changing names of Bombay to Mumbai or Madras to Chennai, or changing names of Connaught and Curzon road to something else. We have to address this ‘obsession of paleness.’ (I will not use word fair here)

_Digvijay Patil. 

'People call us Kaalia': Foreign student questions Rajnath on racial discrimination 

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Again

I again want to fall in love
With myself
I want to redeem myself from
The graveyard of doubt


I again want to compose myself
As a whole person
Not just the scattered personalities
I wanted to be.


I again want that freedom of mind
Before choosing an option
I just don’t want to be that kid
Who is still in confusion
Whether to order chocolate or ice-cream
 

I have learned cost-benefit analysis
Way too much
Now, I am afraid whether to invest
Such big sum or not.


This atheist is now seeking the god
To come out from his situation
I wonder, isn’t his insecurity
Going to give birth to the god?


Oh mighty lord, you should worship
His doubt of failure,
Because you’re nothing more that
Its incarnation.

-Digvijay Patil.

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Religion, you don’t have power to daunt me anymore!

Don’t bother yourself with the religious theories. You already know what is right and wrong. You are the sole decider of your actions. You are the best judge about what is right thing to do. Whenever you are not finding answer to the questions you have, you don’t need to look at the books which many people would tell you that are holy. Your inner conscious is the best mentor you have. Ask him and you will get an answer.

Believe in basic principal this mother earth taught you. Be humble, be selfless and be consistent.

You don’t need to be getting told about things which you already know in a fancy way by these agents of salvation. There is already good and evil present inside your soul. It’s your call who you want to win in every decision you make.

You are too smart to do cost benefit analysis. But it’s not always about cost benefit. Sometimes you have to consider about universal good. Don’t ignore it with your personal ambition.

So religion, I don’t fear you and most importantly I don’t need you anymore. Your agents taught me the idea of sin, heaven and hell. I have got nothing but fear.

What good these holy books are, if ten people are reading them and all are getting different meanings? One becomes extremist and one becomes saint. At the end it’s only my inner conscious that is guiding me.

I pity those supremacist people, who believe that their religion is greatest of all. Every religion tells us to be humble and supremacy is the not a characteristic of humbleness. Those who are preaching the religions haven’t learned this basic thing.

If some religion is imprisoning my personal freedom, then I will abandon such religion. If some religion is discrimination on the basis of my gender and not allowing my personal growth, I condemn such religion. If I know something wrong with the religion and still I am trying to defend it to prove my religion is great, I condemn myself for doing this.

_Digvijay Patil.

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