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Showing posts from 2008

Terrorism Mumbai

As we face the challenge of terrorism in Mumbai I wish to reflect on the vicious cycle of retribution and revenge that has resulted in the present conflagration. It is well said that that those who forget the lessons of History are condemned to repeat it. At the time of the division of the nation India chose to be a secular democracy where we gave freedom to all to follow the religion of their choice without infringing on any other persons rights and subject to the laws of the land. Our founding fathers and Gandhi in particular conducted a freedom movement where they worked to have a social reconstructive program me to prepare the nation and its people for freedom. Our constitution has asked the leaders to make a uniform civil code for the people of India based on the best values of all religions. While a Hindu reform bill was passed after a decade of resistance by right wing orthodox parties our first PM was unable or unwilling to push for a similar reform bill for the minority relig

Tolerance

Tolerance is a virtue we attribute to our country and we say that we are a tolerant lot. This is juxtaposed against the intolerant races like the elements who resort to violence when they cannot get their way. Is tolerance a positive virtue or is it a negative virtue, a sign of cowardice and weakness. According to the Webster Dictionary and tolerance defined in the context of religious belief is sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own. This makes it a negative virtue and sounding more like sufferance. To my mind this is certainly not the correct meaning of the word. In our earthly existence we come across all kinds of personalities and we mostly react to them on a physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual level depending on our state of knowledge or lack of knowledge about the real Self. There are the seers of the person who are men of peace who are realized souls. To such people we must have nothing but friendly feelings

A Green idea for Mumbai

In response to the issue of climate change and the global food crisis, the question uppermost in the mind of concerned citizens is what can we as individuals do to prevent the catastrophe looming over our heads. The idea on offer is not my original idea but an amalgamation of some of the ideas practically implemented and implementable without a major upheaval in the life of citizens. I feel that garbage disposal is a major issue and a methodology wherein wet garbage separated from the dry garbage and processed at site can be done very easily. The model envisages daily collection of garbage by women from an organization called Stree Mukti Sangathana. These women can be employed for 100 households paying Rs. 50 per month to these women of which Rs. 3000 is given as pay. They can make extra income from the lazy citizen who either gives up his dry garbage or gives his garbage not separated. I envisage a model of terrace or city farming where this garbage is used to directly grow vegetables

Conversion Acceptance

I am writing to express my views about the controversy regarding conversion which has been raised among the Parsi Zoarastrians. Let me begin by saying that the laws of the universe are truly universal and apply to every cell living or non-living. In these circumstances how is it that we are so unique and different in our outward manifestation? Is this the reason that we have created man made boundaries of religion, language, nation,caste, colour etc.? If these boundaries were rigid and to be followed then God would not have universal laws applicable to all. On the other hand the difference and uniqueness of each one of can be explained as different stages of evolution of each one of us from gross to subtle manifestation from non living to plant to animal to human to divine. Coming to the aspect of religion. I feel that religion is simply mans interpretation of God i.e. Universal consciousness. Essentially all religions stem from one source and at different times the Lord manifested