Sunday, March 30, 2008

Maaya & Daiva

Maaya and Daiva are two unique Indian concepts that have not yet been fully appreciated by the world. Both offer brilliant explanations about mysteries that engross everything in this universe. While maaya demystifies the apparent reality that surrounds us, daiva helps us in living with an uncertain future. Indian philosophers had propounded these theories thousands of years ago, but ordinary Indians are still struggling to comprehend them. What should have been an integral and uncontroversial part of our curriculum is deliberately kept out just to satisfy the false (pseudo)secular credentials. And instead we force ourselves to study every other theory that has drifted into our landscape from alien lands. Most of us have even lost the natural inquisitiveness of normal human beings to understand what is one’s own.

Nature and future are two indispensable components in everyone’s life. Together they provide the environment and incentive to live on. Ancient seers of India had succeeded to a great extent in explaining the philosophical aspects of these concepts to the ordinary folks then. Daiva and Maaya are the key components of their explanations in this regard. Whatever we consider as real is indeed maaya and whatever is unknown with regard to the future are revered in the form of daiva. The interpretations of daiva as various forms of the unique God (Ishwar) and maaya as a notion that we perceive as real can be considered as the best available treatises that can explain anything to a modern rational man. If everyone can get a chance to learn about these vital irreligious aspects in India today, there will be much more vigor and vitality in our society instead of rivalry and hatred.

Unknown Nature

As infinitesimal part of this universe we are deeply immersed in the happenings around us and we live on with the belief that it is all for real. But we can easily understand that it is not so when we consider our experience while waking up from a dream. If it was a sweet one we feel sorry about being woken up and if it was horrible we feel thankful. Be it a dream or otherwise, it is our very same self that has experienced it. Similarly is the vast difference in our perception when we consider someone as a suspected terrorist and he finally turns out to be a pious and religious man. There are several more instances where this same nature of experience can be perceived for totally different realities. And then drugs, magic and special effects can also produce such similar experience on a human as compared to whatever we normally consider as real. So what is the sanctity of considering anything as real? A more logical perception is to take everything as unreal. And that was what our forefathers considered as maaya.

Our whole perception about this universe is only a maaya and each of us interprets it the way we want or understand. And there cannot be anything for real in a world where each and every one of us is enveloped in maaya. Adi Sankara was only stating the obvious when he propounded the theory of maaya. It is not difficult for any ordinary man to understand this but it will be extremely difficult to admit it so. The Western concept of ‘seeing is believing’ is an absurdity that has become a belief. The effect of maaya is so much that anyone who can develop the capability to dismiss the mundane problems as being part of maaya will be considered as insane and not wise. But even a convinced understanding of the truth about maaya in everyone’s mind can go a long way in raising the overall tolerance level in our society and nation. We can appreciate and tolerate each other much better if we have a common understanding about the unreality that surrounds us.

Unknown Future

More interesting than an unrealistic nature that surrounds us is the unknown future that awaits us. In many ways it is the uncertainty and anonymity about our future that drives us towards an omnipotent and omnipresent God. If there are ways to gain sure knowledge about future, almost all our temples, churches and mosques will be empty. Ancient seers of India propounded the concept of daiva precisely on this basis of uncertain future. As the Sanskrit term indicates Daiva means destiny or destination or simple future for every single entity in this universe. Howsoever significant or insignificant, all entities (animate or inanimate) have a specific purpose of being present in this universe. Being alive and evolved, humans indulge in the added task of seeking their destiny. The close relationship that exists in India between daiva (as destiny) and daiva (as a form of God) becomes relevant in this respect.

The basis of all religious beliefs is the fear or respect for the unknown. Each and every moment in our lives is pregnant with any number of possibilities, all of them uncertain. For a human being, it can be glory, luck, death, bankruptcy, defamation, starvation and what not. The priorities, importance and response to each of this can vary between individuals, depending upon his likings, age, status and background. Surrender and prayers being natural for any unsure individual in an uncertain environment, what is wrong in attributing separate forms of God for each of this unknown possibilities and worshipping with hope of getting the best? Such compartmentalization can provide better focus and intensity for the believers and their beliefs. In fact the glorious belief of a triumvirate of Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh providing overall controls over Creation-Sustenance-Destruction in this universe provides the most comforting picture for all the rationally religious humans.

Contribution of India’s ancient seers to the commonwealth of human knowledge is virtually unparalleled and unrivalled. Maaya and daiva are just two of those that have not caught much attention of the philosophers outside India. As always it is left to those outside India to discover and develop the wisdom pearls of ancient India for the progress of mankind. While pseudo-secularism and lack of positive nationalism are preventing Indians from re-discovering their own glorious heritage, professionals abroad are grabbing and borrowing from the endless storehouse of Sanatana Dharma for development and progress of their own countries. As unlucky giants of virtue, Indians are in deep slumber, unable to recover from the damages inflicted by unworthy Brahmin and foreign rulers.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

True Minorities of India

Though typical of the Western mindset of first knowingly committing sins for their own short term selfish ends followed by repentance after ages, the recent scenes from Australian parliament of their new Prime Minister apologizing to Australia’s indigenous population was a highly symbolic act. A similar apology is long overdue from the British to the Indian people for their atrocities and plunder during 200 years of loot, but is yet to happen. The Australian apology makes sense within India too. Adivasis - the descendents of original tribes of India who decided not to change their lifestyle with the times - are facing very high discrimination and neglect in a modern democratic India. The socio-economic status of Adivasis in India is pathetic and all other Indians are equally responsible for their horrific conditions. In every sense, Adivasis happen to be the minority community in our society and they alone should qualify to enjoy all protection as the minorities in a democratic secular country like India.

A recent news item about an Adivasi tribe settled in the forest suburbs of the capital city of Kerala, one of the most socially developed states in India, is enough to highlight the levels of misery they have fallen to. A visiting journalist noticed an incomprehensible reluctance among all house owners while stating their most difficult concerns. He was expecting lack of food or clothing or sanitation facilities in response. But to our greatest horror we can hear lack of burial ground as the answer. Due to lack of land, the dead are buried within the ramshackle houses and there are already a few such burials inside each house. Only those of us with no conscience at all can listen to such truthful statements without any pain inside. Some of them went on to say that as soon a member falls sick the whole family starts worrying about the lack of space in their overcrowded burial hut cum house. It is a shame that we are unable to find a solution to the land problem of these original owners of our entire land.

Nature’s Children

Adivasis, as their name suggests, are the confirmed descendents of the original dwellers of this land. While most of our forefathers moved out of the forests, the Adivasis stayed on thanks to their insatiable love for Mother Nature. They are Nature’s children and should have the first preference in any land distribution exercise. The case of Adivasis of India is not exactly like the aborigines of Australia. In Australia it was foreigners who deprived the aborigines of their land, while in India it is the rest of Indians who are doing so. Adivasis are reluctant and resistant to change and those who wield power are unwilling to protect them as the real minorities. Many a time they are patronized by the dominant communities only for their own selfish requirements. Adivasis are used as disposable instruments in the land grabbing game played out by the rival migrant communities in many parts of India.

Children have future only if the mother has one. When greedy men are hell bound to grab land at any cost, there is very little that can be done to the forest lands which mothers the Adivasis. And if the whole effort is in an organized manner by organized communities, Adivasis have very little chances of survival. There has been a steady decline in the population of Adivasis since our liberation from British in 1947. As far as Adivasis are concerned, the liberation has been meaningless because only the colour of rulers have changed. Greedy migrant invaders from within India are not only grabbing their lands but destroying their livelihood as well. There are enough reasons to believe that the organized migrant communities have long term agenda and some of them are playing the game at the behest of their international masters.

Nobody’s People

Reason for the present condition of Adivasis in our country is so very obvious. Those without a collective identity are nobodies in an ocean of one billion in contemporary India. Collective bargaining (and blackmailing) becomes the only method of getting what is legitimately due (and more than that) in an unfair system. Universal franchise in a democracy is meaningful only if all beneficiaries are minimum educated to utilise the systems. Each Adivasi in India has a theoretical vote, but most of them do not know how to use and utilize the system to get what is legitimately theirs. Regular political parties and politicians ignore them because they know for sure that Adivasis do not know how to utilize opportunities in a democracy. And it is decades before any crafty politician will rise from Adivasi ranks to demand their legitimate due.

If the current trend continues, days are not far when we have to struggle to find an Adivasi community in India. Just like forest lands and wild animals, Adivasis are also losing out to the clever manipulative skills of modern Indians. These communities are resolute in displacing Adivasis from their lands. One visit to the northern districts of Kerala is enough to learn about this. The migrants have captured everything and their symbols now dominate the landscape of geography, economics and politics of these erstwhile Adivasi areas. The loud voices of looters resonate in lawmaking chambers and not the feeble cries of the looted. The poor and innocent Adivasis have lost their lands to the peanut monies and liquor offered by the clever and manipulative migrants. All that they can expect now is an apology and that too after a few decades.

In a modern secular democratic country like India, the minority status must go to those communities that are socially and economically backward and are also less in numbers. Co-existence of secularism and religious minorities does not make any sense and logic. It is a contradiction in every sense of the term. All citizens are equal irrespective of religion, colour and race – that is the true essence of a socialist democracy. But in India today we find each and every religion and caste clamoring for ‘minority’ or ‘backward’ status. Our politics of short sightedness is encouraging such a tendency which is what keep India undeveloped and underdeveloped forever. Adivasis of India are the lone legitimate minority communities and drastic land reforms are long overdue for giving back their legitimate lands.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

DWELL Philosophy

Lack of fully developed ideology for living and livelihood is a major lacuna for all the right wing political parties in our country. I suppose this is true in the case of all democracies in the world. Though unworkable and unrealistic, the theocratic parties have their religious books and leftists have their international standards in the form of Das Kapital and Communist Manifesto. Barring some stern positions in few contentious issues, none of the rightist politicians venture to spell out their ideology about aspects that affect the living and livelihood of ordinary folks. The lone exception to this serious shortfall was the outstanding effort by Pundit Deendayal Uapadhya. His unique thesis on Integral Humanism, given in a series of speeches in Bombay from 22nd to 25th April, 1965, form the basis of a system of governance that is suited to the Indian nation and its people, regardless of caste, religion or region, as the alternative for all round human development. India lost one of its best right wing brains with his untimely demise in 1968.

The brilliant pundit had summarized the essence of Integral Humanism as follows:-

• An assurance of the minimum standard of living to every individual and preparedness for the defence of the Nation.
• Further increase above this minimum standard of living whereby the individual and the Nation acquire the means to contribute to world progress on the basis of its own Chiti.
• To provide meaningful employment to every able-bodied citizen, by which the above two objectives can be realised, and to avoid waste and extravagance in utilising natural resources.
• To develop machines suited to Bharatiya conditions (Bharatiya technology), taking note of the availability and nature of the various factors of production (Seven Ms).
• This system must help, and not disregard the human being – the individual. It must protect the cultural and other values of life. This is a requirement which cannot be violated except at the risk of great peril
• The ownership, state, private or any other form, of various industries must be decided on a pragmatic and practical basis.

He would have developed and modified it further, and India would have been firmly under the control of a right wing ideology by end of twentieth century. But it was not to be so. It should now be the solemn duty of each and every right thinking Indian national to contribute his or her ideas for the development of such a full fledged socio-economic-political ideology that can take us to the top of the world once again. Here is my own, which I would call as the Philosophy of DWELL (Dharmic Way of Enlightened Living and Livelihood). Some brief outlines on the most important aspects of life would provide the directions to proceed and develop further.

Dharmic Living

The basic tenet of any form of social governance in India must be Dharma. And Dharma is that which sustains. Dharma Rajya must ensure religious freedom, and must not be a theocratic State. Dharma is something that is very basic to human nature and it has nothing to do with any religious faith or belief. We should always bear in might that what is right or wrong is often different from what is dharmic or adharmic. As an example, it is always wrong to kill, but it is dharmic for a soldier or butcher to kill. Hindu Rashtra or Ram Rajya may be objectionable to many Indians, but Dharma Rajya must be acceptable to all Indian nationals. By the way, a nation does not spring up from mere co-habitation. As indicated by Punditji “When a group of persons live with a goal, an ideal, a mission and look upon a particular piece of land as their own, this group constitutes a Nation. A lot of trouble in the West is due to the fact that they confused the State with the Nation, they considered the State synonymous with the Nation.”

Modern India and ancient Bharat have a unique meeting point in the land of Dharma, and if we do not utilize this basis we are digging our own graves. For a Dharma Rajya to dawn, our legislations, socio-economic systems and government policies must undergo the litmus test of Dharma. Only those which are Dharmic must be allowed to be passed and practiced. In a truly democratic and secular set up, it will be difficult to have disputes regarding dharma and adharma. If at all there are cases where such disputes arise, a Dharma Sabha comprising of spiritual leaders from all religions in direct proportion to their population must be convened to reach a consensus decision.

Dharmic Livelihood

Dharmic livelihood is equally important as dharmic living. There are many who lead religious, generous and selfless lives with money generated from adharmic sources. We have heard of smugglers and robbers who are more popular among laymen than righteous leaders. Then there are corrupt politicians who have turned Gandhians after the loot. In a Dharma Rajya these scenarios must never be encouraged. Dharmic living must be necessarily coming from dharmic means of livelihood. Occupation of all types must pass the digital test of Dharma, which gives either a positive or negative result. There is nothing like a half-dharmic or somewhat-dharmic job. All sorts of adharmic occupations must be banned, discouraged and looked down upon by the society.

Enlightenment Goals

Enlightenment must be the declared goal of all individuals in a Dharma Rajya. There are enlightened individuals in all sections of the society and they should be recognized as such. Enlightenment is something that is attained and not inherited. Truth is God and learning to know the truth is the path to enlightenment. Swamis, Moulavis, Clergy, scientists, artists, leaders and in fact all of us are in such a path of enlightenment, but at different stages depending upon our caliber and efforts. It is important to recognize and respect those who are ahead of us in the path.

Nation First

‘Nation first and notions next’ must be the key slogan for management of human resources in a nation. In India, it must be the feeling of Indian Nation that should be first and foremost in the minds of all Indian nationals. All other notions of religious, regional and linguistic divide must become subordinate to our national feelings. We must be willing to give up all other identities if they are against our Indian nationality. Cross-border fraternity and international brotherhood must be secondary to the feeling of co-nationality in a Dharma Rajya.

Distribution of Wealth

It is the duty of a responsible state to provide legal and transparent channels for distribution of wealth. The unconditional acceptance of inequality among individuals is the distinguishing feature that differentiates the rightists from leftists. In any society of unequals, there should be provisions for those at the top to contribute their might for the upliftment of those left behind. Helping and charity are in the basic nature of any human being, and it should be more so in a dharmic society. Given an opportunity for parting with reasonable part of income for helping others, it is natural for any normal individual to oblige. A dharmic society must always provide such avenues for sharing.

In India there is nothing better than a drastic re-definition for the religious places of worship to achieve this (http://jajithkumar.blogspot.com/2005/03/co-operative-mandirs.html). Temples, mosques and churches should become the authorized centres for compulsory distribution of wealth. There should be comprehensive legislations that should ban any place of worship from accumulating wealth beyond its own reasonable operating costs. The underlying dharmic principle is very simple – omnipotent and omnipresent Ishwar does not need any material wealth. All wealth and income accumulating in any place of worship must be distributed among its own users on an equal per-capita basis without any discrimination (those who do not need can always decline).

Reservation and Minorities

In a Dharma Rajya, there is no place for minority status for any one. All are equal, equally important and equally responsible. There should be any form of reservation only for the following:-

• Mentally or physically challenged
• Adivasis (ie. people who would prefer to live in forests)

However, the State should guarantee minimum requirements of food, clothing, shelter and primary education to each and every individual Indian national. The best option before the government is to provide a minimum quality life assurance coverage policy to each Indian national when he or she attains the age of say 5 years. For those who do well later in life the same policy can be used to yield higher annuity returns when required.

Population & Control

India as a nation has existence only till the time the demography is preserved at least in the current proportions. Otherwise it will go the way Pakistan or Bangladesh or East Timor or Kosova. To avoid this disaster, religious conversions in all forms must be banned. Individuals should be allowed to covert from one religion to another, in a highly difficult manner, only if they want to marry into another religion and that too only once in their lifetime.

Modern India and Indians have a lot to learn from our own much boasted family planning campaign in the past and how such good intentional programs have been cleverly undermined by some sections of the society. It is widely believed that the sabotage had the full blessings of those who initiated the same. The fact that almost all the educated Catholics in India (and uneducated others) have at least three children speaks volumes about the amount of ‘family planning’ that has gone into the silent exercise of making a fool of others. In Dharma Rajya there should be no scope for such dirty tricks - there should be no state control or guidelines for procreation. Even while providing all modern facilities for birth controls it should be purely left to the individuals to decide on the number of children they should have.

Education & Sports

A dharmic society must encourage only dharmic education, which should equip individuals with ability to understand and develop skills for a livelihood. To become a good Hindu, Muslim, Christian etc., one has to become a good Man first. Learning the truly secular ways of getting knowledge and skills for livelihood are pre-requisites to enter any path of enlightenment. Any form of religious education before of the age of ten is useless and fifteen is counter-productive to the intended objectives. Children should necessarily attend their own religious classes only after attaining the age of fifteen. By that time they would have become good human beings and good Indian nationals too.

State intervention in sports and games is welcome when there are unhealthy trends developing in these fields. The disproportionate and unhealthy interest in the gambling game of cricket presents such a scenario in India now. Games & sports must be oriented towards development of physical health. Football, hockey, kabadi etc., must be encouraged at all costs (http://jajithkumar.blogspot.com/2007/02/health-of-nations.html).

Agriculture & Industry

In a broad sense, it is agriculture that has always sustained culture and it is the mother of all that we call as our culture. Emphasis given to sustainable methods of agriculture must be very high and a minimum of 25% budget allocation must be made every year for sustaining agriculture in our country. Loan facilities given to those in the agricultural sector must be liberalized and capping should be always made on the rate of interest chargeable. Performance of banks must be based on KPIs related to quantum of loans made and recovered (http://jajithkumar.blogspot.com/2007/04/banking-kpis.html), and not on the basis of profits. Industrial sector must always subsidize the agricultural sector, under the basic argument that agriculture is something very basic to human existence. There should be no conflict and competition between the two. In short, it is the basic dharma of industry to sustain agriculture.

There are many who indulge in false propaganda that rightist ideologies are reactionary and anti-development. Nothing can be further away from truth than this propaganda by followers of failed ideologies. Ancient Indian concepts of Dharma are proving their relevance in modern times almost every moment. All the modern and evolving concepts of sustainability, social justice, eco-friendliness, renewable energy etc., fit in very well into a social system that is based on Dharma. Our India will be a much better place to live in for all sections of our society if we can voluntarily opt for an Indian way of living. In any case the days of DWELL Philosophy are not very far in India.