Remembering Bapu

Time and again, I try to revisit Gandhi ji, His thoughts, his actions, his beliefs and message. I always find something new, something which is so much more relevant as time passes by. Gandhi ji was a great scholar and   whatever he said or whatever he did was always backed by so much of thinking, reading and analysis. His life was an open book, without any internet based Social media those days. He relied on the real world, human interactions and real life based social media, wherein anybody can walk to him anytime, support or oppose, understand him or make judgment without understanding at free will.

Let’s revisit some of words of wisdom and try to understand in our own context, the relevance of these words-

“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles”

A very complex statement, each and every part needs to read and re-read so as to get to the gist of the underlying rational. 

We seldom wonder, who we are, where we come from, how are we different from others, other life forms etc. A simple thought, a restatement which was said by numerous religious and political leaders in the past, 

A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, Nothing else. Mahatma Gandhi

While some of modern philosophers and thinkers have written off religion on accounts of scientific grounds, but just because religion cant contest and win with Science on some of the grounds, does not mean that Science is the supreme, ultimate truth. Both Science and Religion are tools to discover and comprehend the chaos in nature (which includes human body, mind, thoughts, earth, extra-terrestrial, inter galactic matters etc). No Religion which is narrow and which cannot satisfy the test of reason will survive the coming reconstruction of society in which the values will have and character and not possession of wealth, title or birth will be the test of merit. He foresaw the changing times and the changing fabric of the society. He realized that Religions are not sacrosanct and should evolve to address the changing times, should be able to stand the test of Logic. A firm believer in Meritocracy, his above statement was ahead of his times, when the Indian society was deeply marred and divided on social, cultural, religious grounds.       The statement below is quiet an interesting statement. He does not support the whole idea of living life based on blind ideologies. While we are the way we are and we believe in whatever we believe, but Gandhi ji argues that the Ideologies and Beliefs should not be followed just to feel good about ourselves, to appear consistent to ourselves and to the rest of the world.

Constant development is the law of the life and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself to a false position.

In quest for truth and knowledge, one can or sometimes can’t keep harping the age old (may be a year old, a decade old, a millennium old) philosophies because some wise men said so.

Gandhi ji’s Life was his message. 

He said what he believed, he constantly questioned what he believed, and he did what he said and said.

An appeal to India Media, Bollywood, Cricket team and Industry

A Humble Appeal.

Dear Indian Media,

We Indians sincerely Thank you for providing necessary support to this revolution against corruption. We really do hope that you will keep covering this revolution with same zest and vigor not only till the government agrees to form the committee but beyond that till the bill is actually implemented and we the common people of India are made aware/ learns how to approach Jan Lokpal, how to raise voice against corruption happening around them in their day to day life. At some point in time you might be tempted to give front page coverage to IPL, or something which you might perceive as more sensational in that particular second/hour/day. We hope that you will realize the need and potential of this movement based on not what it is today but what it can bring tomorrow for all of us. You have a role to play and perhaps might be required to keep aside the profit making moves, motives and news for a few days but be rest assured the people of India will definitely reward you for your insights, updates and transparency about this movement against corruption. So please maintain your focus, the media space it deserves considering the national importance of this matter for generations to come above and beyond the monthly TRP ratings.

Dear Bollywood and Indian Cricket team,

We are thankful you for your relentless efforts and dedication in entertaining us and for keeping our spirits high despite a mundane life, despite all the pressure, tensions and worries about trivial things such as food, water, electricity, clothes etc. he popular platform you have provided will definitely provide a fertile ground to many other forms of arts, entertainment and sports in years to come. We really hope that you appreciate the love and fan following and the associated rewards ( money, life style and perhaps a different kind of stress) you have gained over and above the fixed income/fee and tax rebates. We now humbly request you to use the available privileges at your disposal to support this movement against Corruption led by Anna Hazare and encourage more and more people to be a part of it. We also hope that with your talent and skills you will be able to keep the spirits of the masses high amidst such demanding situation and in conjugation with media will come out with some encouraging posters, slogans, banners, short films, documentaries, songs which can make people realize what they really deserve and what they have been getting over the years from our government. We know your prime responsibility is of sports and entertainment but perhaps its sometime important to rise above the routine ( as we sometimes do by watching your movies more than once and standing in a Que for hours to get your glimpse etc) and contribute back actively to the society for the common good of all the members. Unfortunately more than 400 million people in India still have to put an immense fight to earn the livelihood for the day despite of billions of Rs/ $ being spent on development schemes. So a corruption free society is bound to improve the living conditions of those millions some of whom might be able to join your ranks or at the least will be able to enjoy what you do, some day.

Dear Industry Leaders, Visionaries and Gurus,

Despite a minimal government support you have worked towards the growth of this society, economy and the industry. Unfortunately several state and central governments have been taking credit of your efforts but we the people know who are the real hero behind the India shining story. At some point in time smart and educated people amongst you might have been harassed by a bureaucrat or a politician who's not worth a dime otherwise and do not deserve to even talk to you. Over past 20 years, you have shown the power and prowess of Indian businesses all across the world and have generated huge employment opportunities which government has never ever thought of in distant dreams. This is our humble appeal to leverage your good offices and resources available so as to support this movement. You can write to several offices in government to especially look into this particular case and give consent to the Jan Lokpal bill. This country needs you now more than ever to play a more active role in politics and civic societies. If some of you can come forward and join the movements such as India Against Corruption and Loksatta . The times have changed and people of India will definitely vote in your favor. the best support you can extend is fostering a culture of complete no to corruption at all levels within your organizations internally and also externally while dealing with government agencies, clients and vendors alike. Initially you might face some loss ( decrease in profits) in business but for sure over a long term this practice will bring in unforeseen rewards to your organization and to the society at large. So in order to benefit your business over a long term and in order to make the system more easy to deal with, people and business friendly please support this bill, this movement and Anna in best of your capabilities.

To All

All of us are insanely capable of critically analyzing the situations and taking decisions which in long term will benefit us as an individual and as a society at large. However when all of us collectively take decisions after a complex series of interactions between various stakeholders of the society, we always tend to distrust the others ( the other people, the other stakeholders in the society) and take decisions which benefits us and our immediate family in the short term

(fearing that whatever is planned for long term might not actually materialize). And so this bill is important because it will bring in transparency in the system and will have sufficient ways and means to punish the corrupt and thus setting strong precedence for others. Since this bill will empower the citizens of India to file complaint against bureaucrats and government officers who ask for bribes and do not behave as per books, the general habit of casual corruption amongst the masses will also go away/significantly reduce over a period of time. So please come forward and support this bill, this movement, Anna Hazare for our own personal interest.

PS: this appeal does not mean that the people of India necessarily needs support from any/all of the above mentioned agencies, but since these people too are part of the same society and are well respected by the people, their small efforts will go a long way in support of this movement.

Arun Gandhi: Non violence in the age of terrorism

Sharing simple yet powerfual thoughts of Mr. Arun Gandhi ( grandson of Gandhi ji) about relevance and more wide and core meaning of non violence and how it can help us counter terrorim.

This is one of the most powerful speeches of recent times, I have seen and heard. The principle of non violence is not new to this world. Every religion teaches non violence as the way of life and thats what Gandhi Ji reminded us. Mr. Arun Gandhi shares interesting ancedotes on how small events shaped his life and firmed his belief about non violence.

The 'war against terrorism' has failed to achieve the ends. As Mr. Arun Gandhi points out, the war never was and cannot be solution to any problem. It will only augment it. The solution lies in peace, non violence and tolerance. Mindless killing and reckless war will only increase the rage and hatred in the heart of fundamentalists, who are hell bent on proving their point. By killing a few of them today might reduce the visible number of terrorists in near future, but after few years somebody else will come and will spread the hatred, terrorism once again. We simply cannot remove the hatred by hatred, we cannot win a war against another war. We must develop the tolerance towards other point of view which might be diametrically oppposite to our, we must learn to co exist in peace. 

Violence is simply not the solution to Terrorism. Wars do not address the root cause of the problem. It just superficially cure the symptoms, in a very expensive manner that too temporarily. The undercurrent, the real reason for which people hate each other and carry out such heinous crimes at large scale. The only community benefitting out of this is defence contractors, suppliers who are supplying these weapons, arms and ammunitions to these fundamentalists and government both.

Its time for politicians and global leaders from around the globe to retrospect and to understand the power of non violence. I think even if all nations from around the globe pledge to spend 1 full year of non violence and tolerance, several lives can be saved, billions of dollars can be saved which can be channelized in welfare programs and perhaps the root cause of terrorism can be solved for ever.