Saturday, May 13, 2006

How to cleanse or better a system? (Part #0)

This post has been moved. All the series shall continue there.

N.B: There's no particular reason for this decision. This "orphaned" introduction to the series had been dangling on this page too long now, also hindering the process of translating other thoughts into blogs. Thus, I thought I shall take my own sweet time for the "series" and continue with my Random Ramble here.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

RDB - A generation ...awakens?

Rang De Basanti (RDB) - a movie that most of the Indian youth liked in the recent times. What's with these patriotic movies that people catch on? Several people have appreciated Sarfarosh, but that didn't bring Hindus and (Indian) Muslims any closer. Lagaan wouldn't probably have been such a huge hit if it involved something other than cricket. Swadesh was only a moderate hit, yet half of those who saw the movie do not know Association for India's Development (AID). Given the scenario, what social impact will RDB now have? That's my primary concern soon as I pause appreciating the technical gloss the movie has to offer. Without a social impact, if the movie just brings some money to the producer and more movies to the cast/director, I am unhappy yet. (Well, I am happy actually, if someone follows suit the formulaic way and goes about making a similar movie with Gandhi instead of Bhagat Singh in its central theme, but that's a different story now.)
RDB raises spirits of the youth, gives them a feeling that they can be the change, tells them to stand up and protest the way Indian politics is. But, if all the male leads in the movie conspire to commit a crime (yes!), and then continue on to preach that the youth can bring a change by joining politics, administrative services, military, etc., what message are we passing to the youth exactly? I still feel that the current youth might not even think much more than merely appreciating the movie. Even if someone wants to do something, there's no proper channel to put their thoughts in, no person or organization to guide them. Most organizations that rose lately to serve the society are unfortunately either confined to local pockets due to practical implications or are affiliated to the existing political parties/ideologies.
Such movies as RDB were there in the past, and there'll be more in the future. (In fact, I dare to say that RDB's plot, and not the presentation or the spirit, is something that vaguely resembles a 1994 Suresh-Vani Viswanath-starrer Telugu movie titled "marO Quit India", which I am sure, not more than a handful of us have heard of. This parallel is drawn by yours truly, since I was the one who watched the Telugu movie twice within a span of one week... I'd not have got a chance to watch it ever again if I waited for another week!) bhaarateeyuDu (Indian), nijam, aparichituDu (anniyan), yuva, and probably yet-to-go-on-sets satyaagrahi and satyamEva jayatE are all the same in their theme... but a majority of these movies show violence as a tool to eradicate certain individuals causing harm to the society. Unfortunately, that's not even a remote part of a practical solution. Why did a revolutionary hero like Bhagat Singh not live till the time India was independent? Name one such revolutionary who did live till then. A method that doesn't sustain itself/oneself until the solution is realized is plainly impractical, in my humble opinion.
My final word on this is thus: Let RDB or some other movie on the same lines rise the spirits. Let the generation awaken, but then, let the generations that follow take the path of non-violence, which largely was the reason for Indian independence. Or, at least, let the path be something that sustains the passers-by of the path until the goal is realized.
Jai Hind!

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Random Replies


Still in response to “The Egoistic Me”, and “Cruise Control”:
Okay, yes, I admit I digressed a lot in my previous post, due to its irrelevance to the context you brought up the “ego” issue. The Ayn Rand’s book is nevertheless a good read, and is still in context, by the way. Now that you wrote another post that tangentially takes off on the concept of ego, I shall try to organize my thoughts on both these posts.

Ego doesn’t necessary mean bad, I reiterate anyway. What makes ego bad is disrespect towards others’ ego. About the bad ego, I am with you. Luck, in itself, is inexplicable, and how snugly it fits into the picture of ego is a different thing. What you said is right – people blame luck when they lose or the other one wins, and this is bad ego. However, as long as you regard others’ ego to be as big as your own, I think you’re not wrong or overconfident in assuming that it was your capability and planning that helped you achieve. Well, that’s enough said about Ego.

Routine is always monotonous, in fact, on the road or not, since the ride goes on. You’ve got a good analogy there – about road and life – but it’s only partially seen. Like we spoke, road is largely under control by rules of the government, and life is only influenced, not governed, by the rules of the society. It’s your choice to take which road you want, when to drive, how to go about the whole ride, who to take along, etc., and all this, in my humble opinion, is as important as the analogy that you struck on.

There’re other ways of looking at the Ferrari example – the Ferrari is neither your ego nor does it depict the lack of chance to prove yourself; it may be that you are in no hurry, and want to let the Cadillac pass anyway, with due respects to the “old Cadillac”. Or, may be, you do not want to be in the big bully’s path! See? Are these bad too?

By the way, is “cruising ahead” the soul goal or not? You seem to have contradicted yourself! I might agree that cruising ahead is not the soul goal, but then, staying put is not allowed by the rules of the society anyway; you should move anyway – choices, such as the direction you take, the speed you go, etc. are still in your hand! And, why do you think “reaching home safe is the foremost goal” for the soul? Is there a home, anyway? Which one are we talking about now?

Delay is not defeat, yes, but isn’t “defeat” the word in the dictionary of “ego” most of the times? Is that bold-facetype font addressed to the ego of yourself and/or the co-passengers? Ah, the co-passengers! You call them “real mess”? That’s only when you let them speak so loud as to influence or disturb your concentration on the road. Play your own music, and make sure they enjoy it too!

Continue blogging and I’ll ride along too.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

The Ego... Me or You

This comes as a reply to “The Egoistic Me” (with permission from the original author):

Like I told you already, brother, you spoke only of the negative ego, and never mentioned there was a positive counterpart! Thus, here I go, starting with some italicized text that I wrote in a different context a few years ago. (References such as maaya or Rebirth bear relevance to the original context, and may thus be ignored.) I am no philosopher by training, but I feel that most of my rambling is acceptably true.

“Ego” is not always bad. In fact, “ego” is what keeps oneself very much in this world. If one is not egoistic, one cannot “feel” or “exist”, or even “exist the feelings” or “feel the existence”! Ego is not selfishness or self-centric nature. Ego is oneness – the true belief in “one” existence – the essence of most of the world’s philosophy. The nature of the human mind may define it narrowly sometimes and in some cases, but it’s not as harmful as it’s thought to be! That’s why most philosophies of the world preach that ego must be sustained, while life itself must be trivialized!
...
Equating ourselves with our desires is the famous and debatable maaya! Once we realize this and hold our “ego” higher than our “desire” and not worry/care about “hypocrisy”, the maaya is shattered for good! The “ego” is then the only existing entity – yours or mine does not matter! It’s The Ego! This is the unification of the jeeva-atma and the parama-atma! If an entity called God exists (as one or in multitude), the Gods unify into one, and that one identifies itself with The Ego. Death of The Ego never occurs – it’s eternal – the Absolute! Where, then, is the question of Rebirth? Or, would you know ever if there’s a Rebirth at all? The Ego diminishes in itself, shrinks, expands, fills the world, divides itself,
establishes itself in multitude, ...it’s the same Soul in every being – It never dies, it never withers, it never deteriorates, ...all It does is “exist”.
...

A disciple (unable to recollect his name – was it Ramananda?) suggested Vivekananda in his last days that the latter should undergo surgery for his kidney trouble, and that money will pour in to aid the Master. The Master ­–Swami Vivekananda – replied: “Why don’t you understand? I cannot live in this body any more! It’s too worn out to hold me! I need more space. I need to spread out into the world and carry out my deed...” (paraphrased from one of the publications by Sree Ramakrishna Math) – This “I” is the Ego!

I agree you already stated we’re not all Vivekananda-s. Well, of course, but we can take the good of what he said, like most other things we might have learnt from someone else including Vivekananda, can’t we?

Finally, not to make it too long, I’d end here for now, suggesting you to read Ayn Rand’s Anthem. :-)

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Things are moving...

First, there was Paritrana. Then, I knew the emergence of Bharat Uday Mission (BM). Then, I was referred to two Yahoo! Groups, WeWillHelpYou (WWHY) and ToMakeADifference (MAD). Of all, much to my surprise too, I did not associate myself with the very first one and the most-widespread among all, Paritrana, yet! With others, I did join their Yahoo! Groups (including BM and BM-USA for the first one), and am observing the proceedings a bit silently and didn’t get into “action” anywhere yet, but well, I am involved anyway, mentally at least!

Why didn’t I associate with Paritrana, then? I am not exactly sure yet, but I guess it’s because I knew it, albeit formed by IIT-ians, as a political outfit first. BM is not going to be a political party until 2010-2011, as they state on their website, and I realize from their Group that they’re well into social activities already! Well, if the fire dies out by 2010, good still, since a died-out enthusiasm does not influence Indian political scenario. If the fire doesn’t die out, better yet, since it’s an enthusiasm that had been withstanding the societal affairs and the very state of it for the last five years then!

The other two are a lot different, in fact – there’s nothing political about them, now or in future. Moreover, these are not backed by brains such as IIT-ians or other students – these are real common people, just ordinary ones like you and I, who came together as a group (Well, two groups, yes, but there seems to be a lot of overlap among their members anyway!) to do greater good, within their reach, for the society! And, at least MAD is now celebrating its first anniversary as I type this! Isn’t it a pleasant thought that assures some confidence about the helping people in the group, and about the group itself, and about the way it’s striving to change things in the society? (In fact, these groups are more about helping needy individuals and families with monetary and material help in needs such as individuals’ education and/or health.) How can one be sure that the help is actually reaching the needy, if the organization itself doesn’t have proven track record or credibility? Well, the name is not popular, but it’s the faith that matters – the skeptical one can check out the groups’ archives, and files, to be sure for oneself!

I told a few people about all these organizations, but not many were enthusiastic. All these were people who expressed their desire to make a difference, but they just don’t have much time or space in their mind to get into action, mentally at least, at this time of their life, I guess. I am fine with it, and optimistic still, that these groups do get the recognition they deserve – at least, those who received the help feel that, and I am happy! And that’s exactly why I am more for the latter three groups than Paritrana – I don’t want to be associated with something that gets a name anyway. I would rather want to be a part of what needs an extra hand, and mind. I’m waiting for strength – moral, financial, social, and personal – to get into “action”, so to say.

Suddenly, humanity seems to have many more beacons to show the way –  definitely not stand-still, inert beacons – I’m talking about the real beacons that always show the way, those that move with you, those that are with you! There've always been some, and there are more now, and there'll be more in future, and there is, at one time, light all over the place!

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Traffic in India: A solution proposed


This is from my own experiences in the city of Hyderabad in the year 2005, the last time I went to India. This is a solution that I found good enough to be implemented by anyone, and I wish people take cue and do the same as much as possible. This is applicable to all roads, all cities, all vehicles, and (nearly) always! This is from one person’s experience – so let’s be optimistic that this can be seen in all of our experience!

When you go on the road, if you see that a vehicle is violating a traffic rule – the most common being a red signal violation – do this:


  1. Note down the license/registration number for the vehicle. If it’s a government-owned (RTC) bus, also note down the depot it belongs to (even the abbreviated name will do) and the start and end termini in its route.



  2. Also, write down the date and time of the event, along with the best description of the place of occurrence.



  3. Call the Traffic Police Control Room (you can get the appropriate number by calling 100 or directory enquiry in your city), or the Traffic Hotline/Help-line and lodge a complaint. If you can, get a policeman to write down the complaint on a “penalty ticket” (challan, as we call it in India) for the same.




The Traffic Police Control Room staff in Hyderabad informed me that the penalty ticket shall be sent by post to the vehicle owner’s registered address, and after three such penalty tickets that go unanswered, instructions will be given to seize the vehicle on sight. In the case of government vehicles including buses, the driver will be identified by the date and time of the event, and the penalty will be deducted from his salary. Three such penalties will require him to retake a license examination.

Believe me, people, this is really effective and does the job to a great extent. For instance, let’s assume I violate a traffic rule somewhere. If someone sees me and does the above, and I get a penalty ticket at my home, I may not care once. What if I get another one, and another one? Would I not panic, and go pay at least the last, and then stay put following rules as much as I can, ideally speaking? Well, I agree that many people might not be living at the address listed on their license, or even worse, some people might be driving someone’s vehicle! But then, we cannot let everyone pass just because of these exceptions!

At least in Hyderabad, the police were strict and sincere enough to write a penalty ticket for a police jeep that crossed a red signal when I lodged the complaint, also mentioning that it was a police vehicle!

Thursday, January 26, 2006

It's a Relative Wor(l)d!

This comes as a reply to "The Real World" (with permission from the original author):

Positive and negative, success and failure, good and bad, real and virtual, you and I – everything is relative to something else. The mirror, which we believe so much to be showing the actual picture, deceives us by interchanging the right and left! You stand in front a mirror, raise your right hand, and call it "right" still, but you obviously don't call the same reference when it's someone else other than your reflection. Can you become I? Can I become you? If you answer affirmative, bingo! That's where your mutually opposite terms unite into One, don't ask which one!

Everything happens for your own good, yes. Even if you hit the consoler, it's for your own good – since it takes out your frustration for a second, and it's for the consoler's own good, since he/she would then be cautious when playing the consoler the next time! :-)

Bad doesn't become good if you just think everything happens for good. In fact, like I was saying, there'd be no more good and bad, there'd be just One – the issue. Anything as pure and clear as water is just as pure – colorless, tasteless, odorless! Thus, things don't "turn out" good – things just seem good, ...and that's when you go wrong (another "relative" term)! Why wrong? Because, bad is bad, but bad teaches lessons, and lessons are always good. If you turn a blind eye to bad, bad doesn't stop being bad, obviously, and you're now blindfolding yourself to the circumstances and to the truth. You got one thing right, bro! The cycle repeats – that's what a cycle always did! :-)

Think confident, yes, but did you think this: Is "confident" good?! Yes? Are you sure? Think again. Did you not lose sometimes when you were confident? ...when you knew the end result confidently but finally were in for a big surprise?

So, my point is this: Bad happened and it is definitely bad... ("so feel bad" is what you said. You may say that again, I don't mind!) but then learn the lesson รป that's always good. If you feel bad and leave it at that... hmm! I'll tell you a short story here – a story you may have heard in a different context: Chanakya set out on some mission. On the way, a thorn pierced his foot. For the man he was, he was so enraged that he found that thorny bush in the darkness and set it afire, waited until it burned down, and ...walked on his mission. If bad happens, and all you do is feel bad, then it's like leaving your mission in the middle, in order to set the bush afire. Where's your mission? Pursue it, continue to pursue it!

Those who "boast" of their positive nature... first, don't you want to see that as confidence? ;-) If not, you may be biased, no? People with positive nature have more than a pinch of doubt and anxiety, sure, but then, they're still "positive", and you may want to call it "confident". Words – you choose them, brother! Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst – I believed this since long. Only later did I realize that this was preached in Vedic, Western, and Chinese philosophy alike! What does that tell you, sir? And, by the way, not all failure is laughing stock! We get our stock of laughing from success too. :-)

"...high goals can help". Positive about it? Or confident? ;-) Or both? Or optimistic? Or hopeful? ...See, each word is different, and each one fits the bill with some positive aspect to it. Positive or negative, it's all one thing – attitude. Realization – this, too, is something that has been held high by several schools of philosophy!

Imagine, analyze, realize, believe, implement... this is the protocol. If this fails, there's something else you missed – introspect. Break things into "modules", check each one for its validity, join them all. If you don't get a valid result, the "joining them all" was not seamless. Check for errors, repeat. Do I need to tell more? :-)

I'd like to hear others' input.