Musings Own Thoughts

In this age of style over substance every attempt has been made to package an old hypocrite into an energetic man of vision. Our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, hit the nail on the head by stating while releasing his party's election manifesto Dr Manmohan Singh revisited the issue and discussed what he thinks to be the 'contributions' of L.K. Advani to public life.According to a newspaper report (Indian Express, 25 th March 2009) While recounting Advani's record as the Home Minister, Singh said "the country must decide whether this person ( Advani ) is fit to be the Prime Minister." The Prime Minister said Advani had played a "prominent role in destruction of Babri Mosque." "What else has he ( Advani ) contributed to the national welfare? When he was the Home Minister, attack on Parliament took place, troops were mobilised for 12 months (on the border) and withdrawn without any reason resulting in losses to the tune of crores of rupees, R...

Well India is back to election season and as in every election we break a world record in the peaceful and relatively free and fair poll we undertake. Since China does not have any such exercise we being the the second largest population break the world record set by ourselves. The UPA seeks a mandate based on performance, the NDA on the basis that they can provide stronger leadership, better governance and stronger performance on issues of security. The Left along with BSP and other former heavy weights constitute the third front. They are hoping that they have the critical minimum numbers while the other two fall well short of the majority and they with outside support form a government. Among all this hubris are symbolic candidates put up by citizen groups who are well meaning and ushers of a change in the polity. They lack resources and lack the mass base and it is rare to see them winning. In Mumbai, Loksatta Party, JNM and Adolf and his group may put some of them up. The UPA has...

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 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...

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...

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 ...

The verdict is out. The people of Gujarat have chosen their leader. While I beleive that in a democratic set up the verdict of the people obtained by fair means is to be respected.  An important distinction has to be made here and I want to draw the readers  attention to it. This victory cannot and does not absolve Modi of the crimes he and  his cohorts have commited against a large section of the muslim population  euphemistically called the minorities. State terrorism is a bigger crime than religious  terrorism. Those of us who complacently stand by with a"not in my backyard" attitude must remember that unless civil society resists and opposes the communal politics of  hatred which Modi and his ilk stand for they too may some day become  victims of state terror. The Congress party has failed the people by not opposing Modi's ideology.  I am certainly not of the view that the Congress erred by calling a spade a spade ie. calling Modi a merchant of death. In fact the apol...

The events in Nandigram in West Bengal over the last few days and the issue as a whole is the focus of my post today. The evidence is damning and the double standards and hypocrisy of the CPM stands thoroughly exposed. To terrorize a population of an area in which people were merely demanding to be left alone and allowed to live their own lives in the way they have done so is totally undemocratic. The CPM is not guilty of merely terrorizing the people but has killed looted and burnt down the dwellings of the people it was supposed to protect. This is being done to make way for Special Economic Zones for corporates and their rich clients. It is not that the land under question is a barren arid desert land. By all accounts Nandigram is a green and fertile agricultural zone. The CPM which swears by the common man and socialistic ideals all over the country are unable to apply the same yardstick to their show piece Government of West Bengal. The CM the so called wise Buddha has the gall to...

The nuclear deal negotiated by the Indian Government with the US has become a bone of contention among the proponents and the opponents of the deal. In this game the stakes have reached sky high and the very survival of the UPA government is now dependent on this issue. Where does the common man or " Aam Aadmi " come in on this issue? To my mind this is a battle between idealism and pragmatism. While I do not believe that our PM is a traitor or a stooge of the US, I do believe that the policies of this UPA government have not been in accord with the welfare of the poor. Debating specifically on the nuclear deal I feel a nation wedded to the ideals of non-violence and renunciation does not need weapons of mass destruction. India has not waged a war in its history and we don't need a bomb. We have enough for deterrence even taking a pragmatic view. Today corporate India has hijacked the development debate in the corridors of power. Providing cheap power to sustain our 8....

An Eye for an Eye Makes the World Blind Although the above statement is an evident truth and therefore must not be desirable, the saga of the Mumbai bomb blast trial is an endorsement of this philosophy. Where do we begin and where do we end? Some may say Babri Masjid demolition, some the December riots, some the January riots. In all the hype of the media over one man we forget that the issues involved are far more complex. In an imperfect society we are both victims and perpetrators of heinous crimes against our own brethren. According to me we have all failed in our duties. While civil society to tackle the menace of terrorism, must have legal mechanisms, they should be humane and such that we see a decline in terrorism. The intransigence of the fundamentalist leadership of the Muslim community over a virtual non-issue of the origin of a piece of land enabled the right wing Hindu leadership to polarize opinions. The Babri Masjid a defunct unused mosque became a live iss...

The Theory of Natural hygiene is the basis of the diet cycles in Ayurveda or the ancient science of medicine. We need to ingest, excrete and assimilate what we eat and drink. Therefore we divide the day into three eight hour cycles for the same. Excretion or detoxification is the key to good health. This starts occurring from 4am to 12 noon. Therefore in this period it is mandatory on our part to consume foods which are easily digested and put no or minimal strain on the digestive system and at the same time make us alert and energetic for the day to begin. This is best done by fruits and fruit juices alone. Fruits consumed on an empty stomach get digested and emptied from the stomach in less than half an hour and give instant energy and alertness to the body. From 12 noon to sunset is the time for ingestion. A meal containing raw vegetable juice, raw salad, sprouted salad and steamed vegetables is an ideal combination. In the evening a repeat dose of fruits along with raw unsalted nu...

Yoga & Orthopedics By Dr. Vispi Jokhi M.S. Orthopedics I would like to share with the reader my journey in the field of Yoga, which began eight years ago and will continue till my innings on earth is over. Yoga or union of mind, body and soul is truly India's gift to the world and today the sad fact is that we seem to be importing Yoga back from the West rather than exporting it. As an Orthopedic Surgeon, physical fitness was certainly high on my priority list, however the hectic life of Mumbai made me look for quick fix solutions. Gymnasiums, free hand exercises, brisk walks, swimming all came into my life, but with limited results. Often they became workouts, which left me tired instead of raising my energy levels. My scripture reading gave me an idea about the ancient system of Hatha Yoga of Patanjali and about the importance of all the eight limbs of Yoga. But my "scientific mind" in its arrogance was under the impression that Yoga was merely a series of contor...

Viveka or Discrimination The most natural thing that we do as soon as we meet a person or a situation in life is form an opinion based on our past experience. This is what we call being judgmental. Is Viveka or discrimination the same as judging or different? It is actually a judgment with a difference. The homo sapiens are blessed with the faculty of discrimination which gives him the power to choose between right and wrong, good and evil. This is the ability to react to sensory stimuli and act to choose what may not seem pleasant in the short term but which leads long term joy. It is correct use or abuse of this faculty which enables him to reach the sublime heights of divinity or plunge into the depths of despair. Most of us live in this world superficially as slaves to our senses and fail to look at ourselves and persons around us as manifestations of the divinity which pervades each and every object. That is the reason why we have connotations like fair, tall, elegant, s...

Responsible Actions by Dr Vispi Jokhi By Dr. Vispi Jokhi August 25, 2006 In the humdrum of daily life we do many things, which seem trivial, innocuous and insignificant but adding them up they can have a Force Multiplier effect. I have no claims to be a preacher but in the spirit of karmayog I try to make every decision on the basis of three questions. Is my action ethical? By this I mean is it morally correct? Is it a truthful, non-violent, unselfish act? Is my action ecological? My action must be least harmful to mother earth. In fact it should conserve mother earth. Is my action empowering? All the changes I bring into my life must enable me enhance me spiritually and take me on the path to freedom. Quoting the first verse of the Isha Upanishad: The Lord is enshrined in the hearts of All. The Lord is the Supreme reality. Rejoice in Him through renunciation. Covet nothing, All belongs to the Lord. Thus working you can live a hundred...

If you judge people, you have no time to love them - Mother Teresa When we see oneself in all and all in oneself we are ready to selflessly love ourselves and all of God's creation. While this is an absolute truth can this be followed in our daily dealings with all that we come across? Our total education and conditioning is to look externally and be judgemental all the time. This leads to all kinds of expectations and desires. When these desires are unfulfilled or someone does not behave in a manner we percieve as correct we tend to react. The reaction ranges from being merely sad to extreme anger and violence in thought word and deed. While the ability to rise in universal love is seen in the Self realised souls like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa can we too gradually bring about this transformation? I beleive the answer is yes and even if the task is daunting and seemingly unsurmountable it needs to be done. Bit by bit we can tranform ourselves t...

GURU All of us are made in the image of God and pervaded by Him, yet in our daily existence we identify with our name, form and personality as perceived by our senses. The hypnotic spell of the sense objects lull us into a sense of well being and happiness. Very soon we realize that these joys are finite and are almost always followed by sorrows. It is when we face suffering that we suddenly feel the need to seek the help of a power outside us. At such times according to our religious traditions we go to the temples and do the rituals and try to bribe the Gods to fulfill our earthly desires of material objects and gratify our lust for sensual pleasures. We are caught up in the belief that pleasures can be isolated from sorrows and we can happy if all our desires are fulfilled. Our education, upbringing and the equation of happiness with pleasures of the physical body and worldly wealth deludes us into pursuing this path with redoubled vigor. The light of knowledge is within us...