Media and the CWG

The recent uproar over corruption issues and organizational failures of the Commonwealth Games, Delhi brings out the self-denigrating mindset of Indians who seem to take a certain pride in looking down on themselves in a social arena.It is true that there has been financial irregularities[as there always has been here] as well as poor planning execution at the very highest level.It also cannot be denied that we needed more proffesionalism and stringence in conduction the preparations for such a mega event.
But the shrieking of the media [both print and visual] and its screaming headlines and breaking news over the matter raises several questions..
Firstly, the CWG is an issue of national pride.whether we belong to the govt. or the planning commitees , the public or the media,,we are Indians first..is it not our responsibility to ensure that out image is not tarnished in the eyes of the world or is it so important to keep throwing shoes at each others while the world makes a mockery of us.
Secondly, keepng in mind the magnitude of the event ..would it not have been more prudent to postpone the blame game and brickbat throwing after the Games..that would have ensured more efficinet functioning and less hassles to the curent team working over time to get the house in order..
Thirdly has the media fulfilled its role in projecting the heriocs of our particiapants who have braved so many odds of lack of infrastructural support to reach world standards..have they; while shouting hoarse over doping issues taken even one step to salute those who represent our country and have positively excelled in recent international events like never before in history .our standards in badminton,snooker,atheletics,tennis and swimming are at an unprecedented high..no longer do we come back lagging at the bottom of medal charts in most global stages..
Fourthly..why precisely do we posess this self blame culture.In the US you will never find this mindless media-shrieking at their own faults..instead there will be a upright pride in all sectors of the society as a common consciousness for an event with a little space for constructive criticism.
I think its time we imbibbe the spirit of nationalism in our country..shedding this mindset which is the legacy of the British..thats how they left us..thats how they wanted us to be..wake up guys..lets say cheers to a successful CWG and give our country a chance..

UPA government:a story of mass hoax

Never before have we witnessed such a collective apathy and skewed vision of the political circus that is going on ever since the UPA government came to power in 2004.A less-than-careful analysis of the election planks;the basis of which the current government was elected would reveal an abmysal failure in almost all respects to such an extent that it has today pushed our nation to the brink of an economic and security crisis.
A rabble of hoax by a dreadfully biased media which is hell bent on keeping the right wing forces out of power, has managed to keep the public blindfolded in its judgements and knowledge.whetherit be the spiralling food prices and inflation;a total failure to handle the internal security situation,a pathetic indescisivemeness in relation to our policies towards the Maoists menace,a ridiculous handling of our external affairs policies and an unrecendented rot in corruption in the govt. machinery,an expression of which has echoed in the CW games-the UPA govt, has been performing at a level which can at best be judged as alarmingly inefficient.
Comparitively when we evaluate the performance of the previous NDA govt viv a vis this one..its a ceaseless wonder how the people of our country cannot see such a glaring difference .
I personally feel this inability of judgement of the collective billion is a scar on the very process of democracy we champion..i feel its time we take a fresh look at our democratic system which can be tweeked and twisted in any manner by castiest and secularistic agendas to blindfold our people to the failings of our present leaders..

the anti cow slaughter bill

the BJP led Govt. of karnataka passed the much debated anti-cow slaughter bill, amidst the hullaboo and ruckus of the opposition as the House was already embroidled with the raging iron mining controversery.the media has lost no oppurtunity in continuing its pseudo-secularistic propaganda[which increasingly seems to be a second voice of the central government]..
The articles and views written in opposition of the Bill ranged from the quirky to the ridiculous.arguments ranging from the impending doom of all those associated with the beef industry to the plight of animals at the Bannerghatta national park who needs a specialized diet of beef only and of course the secularism-coated concept of a conspiracy to change the diet patterns of the minority...
i wish the media was more responsible in voicing its overt concerns about the bill..they could have at least considered a debate or a counter view point..which should ideally be the case for any controversial issue..instead they choose to raise the issue in blatantly biased light.

Cow Slaughter amd its Ecologic implications

The importance of the total ban of cow slaughter stretches far beyond its ethno-religious significance..
The world today stands on the ledge of an ecologic disaster..our increasingly consumerist lifestyle and unrestrained materialism has put unprecedented pressure on natural resources..the most glaring example of the same is the disastrous impact of the American beef industry on the tropical rainforests directly and consequentially on global warming and economic collapse.
It is incredible to note that about 40 years of relentless pursuit of consumerism has brought the US to a state wherein more than 90 % of their farmlands produce food for livestock instead of humans.yet it meets far less than the demands of the beef industry..which then goes hunting down third world countries like Brazil,Ecuador,Bolivia,Columbia,Peru,etc..all of which have two things in common..a starving debt - ridden economy and a treasurehouse of the worlds densest tropical rainforests..
Today..as you read this article..hundreds of hectares of this precious rainforests are being devastated by hash-and-burn clearing to make way for grazelands for the beef industry..within a few years of which it would be a denuded wasteland..
These developments hold a powerful lesson for us..the sacresance of the cow in India serves much more than providing religios succour to Her 84 crore Hindus..it provides the much needed ecological sustenance..dramatically reduces our carbon footprint..and in fact...form the foundation pillars for the resurgence of the Indian economy ...
Our policy makes need to understand beyond statistics and GDP..beyond development and growth..beyond capitalism and pseudo-secularism..to percieve the fact that our ancient rishis did not hold the cow sacred for no reason..

cow slaughter in India-its legacy

The slaughter of the cow in india and our Govt's refusal to pass a total ban on it ,would go down as one of the historical example of the failure and weakness of a race to stand up for his Dharma and establish righteousness in an issue that has aboslutely no merits and has been only twisted and contrived to extract election mileges..
contrary to popular perception invaders and kings who have ruled our country have shown great sensitivity and tolerance to this one act. Not one but several Mughal rulers imposed a total ban on cow slaughter to respect Hindu and Jain sensititvies..[The clash within: democracy, religious violence, and India's future By Martha Craven Nussbaum]...
The legacy of cow slaughter owes its origins to The British Empire which carried out its large scale practice ,mainly for satieting its huge army contingents. They then managed to project it as an essential principle in the practice of free religion for the Muslims..by this ingenious stance they managed to kill 2 birds with a stone[as they have often done against our fat-headed race]..they got away with being saddled with the blame of this practice and secondly..sowed the seeds of a perennial conflict; the flames of which would be forever fuelled by this pseudo-secularist ideology..
It is interesting to note that the anti cow-killing movement[1880-1884] almost upturned this boat as people cutting across religious lines took part in a vociferous agitation against them and that actively included Parsis,Muslims and Sikhs. (i have often wondered why our history text-books never mentioned this "secular' protest while they unabashadly dedicate chapters to notorious rulers who have been enemies of our culture like Babar, Aurangzeb,jehangir and almost creating demi-god impressions about them in our impressive minds..possibly it would amount to saffronization of textboot..lucky that the cow rarely comes saffron in its hide color]well thats a different story altogether)
The legacy..as usual continued and for the pat 5 decades our successive govts used[rather abused] this principle of secularist freedom to selectivley allow slaughter of cows in our country.In 1966 Indira Gandhi refused to bring on the legislation even on the table despite nationwide protests which led to police violence and deaths..
In the present scenario slaughter for meat continues large scale in Kerala ,West Bengal and North Eastern states..there are more than 32000 unlicensed abbattoirs in our country where the animal is transported to and killed in a gruesome and utterly unhygenic manner..millions of cattle heads are made to walk across the vast Gangetic plains of Bihar,jharkhand and West Bengal for illegal transportation to bangladesh for slaughter..
On this backdrop i would write a series of posts on this practice..there are severeal aspects from which to look at it..ethical, economic,political,demographic as well as karmic..
i for one feel there should be a healthy national debate on the issue and if passed a total , blanket ban imposed on it...

Hinduism and the mordern intellectual

I have often wondered as to why the mordern society has so much disillusionment with the Hindu religion..and why are we;as a people;are so very apathetic to both,its concerns and oppurtunities.
It probably has to do with the abstractness of the religion;its refusal to bring orderliness;heirarchy and cannonization which suffocate the intrinsic freedom that the disciple needs to reach the intangible Supreme.Despite its periodic decay in the form of casteism,ritualism and dogmas; Hinduism has been the most honest religion to its people.it has presented the Lord as the abstract, the many faceted and the compliment of good and evil..it has refused to classify creation into Satan and God,to create a hierarchy of preisthood, an orderliness of organized sainthood and certificates of miracles...instead it has shown the saint within the human;evil as a play of the Lord and miracles as a natural manifestation of the Purusha.
The mordern intellectual ;in his effort to classify the subtle, to satisfy the intellect and give a gross form to spirituality [e.g. ten commandments,holy book,one saint,one pilgrimage,etc]has ofen found a stoic silence from Hinduism . He has then created its own form [Godmen;who are all fake,rituals that lack meaning,some festivals that lack spiritual gravity but have a lot of peripheras,etc ,etc]
if only they kept this intellect aside and made an effort with an open mind, to recieve what a spiritual Master has to offer [for me all this intellectual gymnastics ended with the part 1 and 2 course of the Art Of Living]..they would realize and only gasp at the good fortune to be born in the land of India and as a Hindu...

Ashram Satsang on Sundays

I dont know why I make this tiring journry from the small little town of Davangere where i study ,, all the way to the banglore Ashram...every time i take the overnight train which drops me to the bangalore city station early morning and then another two bus changes before i reach the Ashram..and then its another hard day at Seva or sometimes back to the city for odd jos till Satsang at 4.30 evening..

the sun scorches down on the amphitheatre ..we sing one bhajan after another..but all the time the heart is waiting for Guruji..and then there is that one glimpse..amidst a throng of people He emerges..radiant..blissfull..
chaos reigns as people rush to come close to Him..for some time i can see nothing but people's heads and the dazzle of the sun behind..but soon things settles down..the Master takes his seat and then there is the magic moment..when He gives me that look..
and i suddenly know why i made this journey all the way..just for the look..for that second which stretches to eternity..and I know that my Father loves me like none else and will take me home..