The point of using scriptures.

Many visitors to this blog have often asked us, what is the need to use scriptures to understand things.

This post is meant to answer that.

Well, I do feel that is waste of human intellect, that he needs to be taught morals by someone and not learn them on his own through life experiences or follow some ideals due to personal foresight into matters of life.

On the other hand, religious scriptures are a set of codes penned down thousands of years ago. That something written so long ago should be used in today's life is another insult on human intellect. It obviously implies that mankind is not capable of thinking, that a fear of a powerful sentient being should be instilled in him to do what is good and stall from what is bad.

The objective of the blog thus seems to promote a religious theocracy.

However, that is not our intention. Most religious scriptures contain basic behavioral concepts, for example promoting a modest living, to abstain from lust, anger and greed, so on and so forth. It would be useful if the scriptures are used to generate a common concept of a good, desirable life and all the attributes necessary for it. They should be used to generate ideas of an ideal society. It is then unto us to protect it by all means, even if that means breaking the rules of Dharma for a while, for the ultimate purpose of Dharma should be the betterment and welfare of humanity in its entirety. With the focus on the goal, we should remain free from deciding the means to achieve it. And these means are decided upon by the time which we are living in, not by scriptures. Cultures world over that use the scriptures to decide the means, would stagnate.

Though started from a point of generating strength for Karmasura's personal problems, this is the new intention of the blog. To be.. among countless others out there, the ones to understand the scriptures, and use them for the welfare and upbringing of humanity.

As said in Chapter 2: 46

यवन अर्थ उदपाने
सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके
तवं सर्वेषु वेदेसू
ब्रह्मनास्य विजानतः |

"All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them."

Although I've not read the Vedas, the purpose of the blog should be the same as that.

Quota System: A promise in the way of justice

After many long years, I've started re-exploring the Mahabharata by B.R. Chopra, hoping to get more insights into the intellect and knowledge of our ancestors and their understanding of social issues. And in the very first episode, I felt that I had an experience I needed to share.

Maharaj Santanu of the Bharata clan sees Ganga in a beautiful womanly form and proposes her to marry him. In reply, goddess Ganga asks a promise from him, that he will not stop her in whatever she does.

The promise is granted, and we all know what happens then. One by one, seven sons of Santanu are drowned in the Ganges. Santanu is worried and rushes to his Prime Minister as to what to do. The latter says then:

"Any promise that comes in the way of justice is a curse. You can do nothing but to live it."

We see a similar event in the Ramayana when Kaikeya saves Raja Dashratha's life and is granted a promise to ask whatever she wants.. the result is the expulsion of Ram from Ayodhya.

Today.. we have several such situations when our promises come in the way of justice. The quota system as implemented in India today is one such example.

The purpose of this system was alleviation of the people of the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. There was a consensus that there were tribes of people that were oppressed under the infamous 'caste system' of India at the time of India's independence. As a result, the constitution of India granted 15% and 7.5% vacancies in educational institutions and jobs in the public sector. This was meant only for 5 years and the end of that period, the situation was to be reviewed. Not only have the following governments extended this period, they have also failed to review the situation and have also extended the vacancies for other sections of the society.

So does this mean that the vacancies were not applied adequately? Or did the number of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes increased all of a sudden after independence when instead they should have fallen. Thankfully, the SC had imposed a limit on the quota sytem to 50% and so, it has generally not risen beyond that limit. But why was the limit imposed at 50% and why was it not kept at the initial 15% and 7.5% as mentioned above?

Without going into the details of the quota debate, some quick points that have to be made regarding the systems are as follows:

1. Implementation of the quota system would perpetuate the caste system instead of abolishing it.
2. Political vote bank imperatives will lead to the extention of the quota system to other sections of the society.
3. Scams will float to register an upper caste as a lower caste.
4. Would other religions also not ask for a reservation for its own poor and backward castes?

The last point of the above has already bore fruit as Syed Shahbuddin has made a demand of muslim reservations. Would it not be naive to assume that all other religions will not make a demand for their reservations? Would this not also leave a gaping hole in our armour against other evils as proselytism since people can do both, convert to another religion and acquire backward caste status to avail the benefits of the quota system? Where will the buck stop?

Instead we the people of India should propose:

1. That people be evaluated on the basis of their talent and potential for the post they aspire to and not on the basis of their birth.
2. If at all the government wants to support the poor, they should support them with economic incentives, scholarships, etc. instead of affirmative action.
3. If there are any reasons that this cannot be implemented (such as corruption, red tape, etc), we should attack those problems and not shy away from them and implement coward measures as these, since some of these have become general Indian problems.

(Note: Discussing funding issues for some of the above programs is outside the scope of this blog. I will link this post to a post I will make on another blog of mine)

Like the other two cases, the quota system as implemented in India is a promise that comes in the way of justice. The justice that is deserved by the people who toil hard irrespective of the status that has been conferred upon him by birth. Today's India lags behind many other countries in terms of science and technology. Besides, there would surely be many other fields which we will lag behind because of slacking in standards of quality. Who knows how many Aryabhattas, Bhaskaracharyas, Kalidases, Ramanujans, C.V. Ramans we missed because of this system?

Time to uproot this system that is allowing the caste system to thrive and make promises not in the way of justice, but of justice.

Republic Day Week Special - 3: Fulfilling our fundamental duties

(I request readers to have a breeze past the last two posts to get a better idea on this one)

Ok.. so we come to the last post in the series, i.e. of this festival season.

Now, I will connect once again the quotes from the Gita to the content of the last two posts properly. Well, the point I intended to make was that renunciation, of all kinds is essential for the performance of any kind of duties. For example, in order for you to respect your parents and be able to follow them at all times, you must renounce your ego. In order to effectively learn something with your teacher, you must renounce the urge to belittle your teacher whenever he/she makes a mistake, considering themselves as human as you are. The list of things to renounce thus continues.

The text from the Gita I highlighted opens with Arjuna asking Shri Krishna about the purpose of renunciation by the Sanyasis. As per Shri Krishna, there are two doctrines associated with renunciation. 1) Sanyasa - which is the renunciation of activities that are based on material desire, and 2) Tyaga - which is the renunciation of all activities.

By His opinion, there are some activities, namely charity, sacrifice, and penance must never be given up, but they should be pursued and that should be done without any desire for the goal. (For this doctrine, refer to this post) But infact, they should be pursued as a sense of duty. And that duty has always to be adhered to, without any sense of attachment towards material goals. Only then would we be able to enjoy the true pleasure of renunciation.

Charity, sacrifice and penance,.. these are the qualities that will enable us to fulfill our duties even today. While the world has changed a lot in terms of the sciences, man's baser instincts remain essentially the same. In fact, we have become even more carnal in our desires, but I will leave that for a future post.

Getting back to the fundamental duties enshrined in the constitution, I wish to say that in order for us to fulfill our fundamental duties, we need to renounce:

1) Our petty problems with regard to language, religion, caste and regional issues and come together to forge a unique pan Indian identity. With today's means of education and media, we can make it the most powerful the nation has ever seen in quite a long time.

2) Our greed for money. No other solution comes to mind for the rampant corruption we see in our system. The amount lost in scams just keeps growing every time a new one comes up. This must not be tolerated.

3) Our skills at procrastination. Yes, the bed, the home and the carress of the loved ones are very comfortable indeed. But there is more to life than that. We must develop an attitute of proactivity in life, getting things done on time. We're not to be here forever, we have a limited time to do what we're sent here to do, and we must act with a sense of urgency.

4) Our affinity towards anything foreign. We must learn to respect homegrown or self produced goods and services more than foreign goods. The 'Swadeshi' movement of our freedom struggle needs to be rejuvenated. This will in turn, lead us to respect our composite culture, and as the emphasis is laid on home products, would also lead to in-house scientific research and advancement of science and technology in the country.

5) Our disregard for cleanliness outside our homes, understand the shortcomings of the nation in appointing cleaners for every nook and cranny of the country and take it onto ourselves, to preserve hygiene. Once this is done in the villages, the towns and the cities, the campaign must be taken to the industrial centers and we must have environmental preservation schemes implemented.

6) Our ability to accept anything reported in the Media as satya (truth), all the while forgetting that realizing satya is for us to do ourselves by toil and sweat. Nobody will hand down truth on a platter down to you and if it is happening, then there must be something wrong. Let not psychological/philosophical inclinations delude you into believing something is true. A statement must be accepted only if proof is provided, and even if proof is provided, we must develop a questioning attitude towards it. Nothing should surpass the hammer of our reasoning, and the anvil of truth unscathed.

7) Our affinity for piecemeal measures towards attaining success, and then getting into a state of complacency. We must be resolute in demanding the perfect accomplishment of our goals and only then should we rest. Swami Vivekananda said "Rise and stop not till thy goal is reached!"

It is thus evident that "Tyaga" is not of essence right now, for we still have a lot to do. "Sanyasa" is what is required, an abrogation of material desires, and alligning our minds to our duties, adhering to them till the very last breath.

With this, it is time to depart. Let us make a resolution this Republic day, that we will strive to fulfill our duties to the maximum, and aid India/Bharat/Hindusthan in re-achieving its glorious past.

"JAI HIND!"

Republic Day Week Special: A recap of our fundamental duties -2

This is in continuation from the last post I made on the fundamental duties in the Indian constitution. I have set the background of the post with a few quotes of the Gita describing acts of renounciation, which is very essential for us to achieve our duties. While that is to be discussed in a succeding post, we still have to make a record of our other duties, apart from the three discussed previously.

4. To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.

If we look at national service narrowly in terms of militarily aiding the nation in times of war, I have no doubt we still have many nationalist minded people who are willing to selfless come to the succor of our nation. But when will people start aiding the government in public service projects? When are we even going to start paying taxes lawfully? (Check this article out for more info). Isn't that also a form a national service? Thus, much needs to be done in the real meaning of 'national service'.

5. To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

Apart from sporadic incidents of violence, (although, casualties are indeed large) we should say that there is ample religious, linguistic and regional unity. Few cogs are still rusty though. It remains to be seen if we can stop the rot in time or not. Women too are far well treated these days as compared to some nations.

6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Of all the duties, these has been taken the least seriously. The fad for globalization that has spread across the Indian youth has given a serious beating to our culture. Take a simple example of clothing. Just a couple of generations ago, Indian men and women were wearing traditional dresses. Now, even the poorest of the poor have switched to wearing shirts and pants.

Yet there are some good efforts made in this regard. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities in this regard are one example. For one, check out their mission statement. Also consider their social activity, this time from a more creditable site that most of you would agree with. That of course would be but a small list of the institution's achievements.

7. To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures.

Last heard, tiger population in India was dwindling and has reached a mere 1411. We have mixed results for the lion (link) whose population now stands at 359 while in 1907 it was a mere 13. That was when the Nawab of Junagadh stepped in to protect the lion. A rare case of a royal caring for wildlife. As far as people's movements in terms of natural environment are concerned, the Chipko movement comes to mind (a good link on the history of the movement). Yet, much more needs to be done for the cleanliness of our rivers. Perhaps revival of our ancient ethics wherein we regarded all elements of nature as holy is the order of the day over here.

8. To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

This has been developed to a certain extent. In post independence India, much progress in space and nuclear field has been made, thanks to scientists Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. Homi Bhabha respectively. The green revolution in India is another scientific achievement, and the victory of ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) is a legend. And so was the white revolution in India important for generating milk sufficiency. The flourishing of the spirit of inquiry and reform would be evident from the growing number of engineering and college students in India. It is but normal to assume that with college education spreading, there is a greater chance of this spirit being established in India on a larger scale.

But this has come at a cost about us missing out on rediscovering whatever scientific progress was made in ancient India. Sanskrit education has not been patronised to understand the scriptures, and we have not picked up from where we last departed from science in our scriptures. Our ancestors might have done this only after heavy aggressions from our North-West. We have to pick the stones up again and build the fort afresh. We need to apply our 'scientific temper' in this field.

9. To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.

Public property has been in a state of disrepair since quite some time. Venture out in the world and you will see what is the status of the same abroad. We should feel bad that anything with the epithet of 'public' in India has got an unclean image among Indians. From bus stops, to train stops, lack of hygiene is appalling. In this field, the work of Sulabh Sauchalaya requires special mention. We must start considering hygiene first in the reorganising of our public properties, for it seems it is viewed as a measure of comfort and not as a measure of promoting health.

Other things too need to be considered for public property. Protection from acts of rioting, terrorism, etc. would in turn partly solve the second part of this duty.

10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.

When it comes to striving in excellence in individual activity, we second none. But a lot has to be done in terms of striving towards achieving collective activity. Team spirit lags in India, which could be a reason why fields like Indian sports are stagnating. On the other hand, individual sports like chess, badminton, tennis, golf, etc. have done much better in comparison to team sports in India.

On the whole, while there are some good stories that are worth mentioning, we still need to do a lot to realise our fundamental duties. I sign off this post right now and will return another time, most likely before the 26th of Jan with a few suggestions on how to reform India.