Random thoughts

Sunday, December 3, 2006 Random thoughts The monster of corruption resides in all of us. We have to recognize it and fight with it. It comes in various shades: temptation, favoritism, greed, gift and bribery. If we take larger than life view of the situation and curb the basic instinct of acquisition of material wealth, corruption will remain subdued. Corruption is not a genetic disease, although vast majority are carriers. Education and family planning will go a long way in curbing corruption. Patriotism has given precedence to castism. Politics polluted a huge chunk of Indian minds and brought out slogans on the basis of caste, creed and classes. A nationalist is saddened by the degree to which the people seem to be divided by narrow consideration rather than united by larger cause and faith in their country. Education has to be made a way of life. It requires investment, capital as well as mental. How much does India spend on it compared to developed nations? People prefer donating wealth to their sons rather than to educational institutions. Rivers are national assets, but river waters are difficult to distribute. What flows through one village in one state goes to another village and state in a few hours. The stretch of water body is not stagnant as in the well. Between upstream and downstream there are thousand of villages and homes, and vast stretch of land, all need and claim something from nature’s bounty. Conservation of water is more important and, even more important is the population control. All are equal and creations of God. The notion of God is inherent in human genome. How it came about is not known. Different followers invented rituals in different ways. This concept cannot be revisited or denied. You cannot disprove the notion of God. Our pettiness and ego divides people into segments. This has happened since time immemorial. Improvement can be made gradually and through individual efforts. We have to have more Dayanand Saraswati and Mahatma Gandhi to do this, or we inculcate those values in us to make the entire mankind as one global unit. They all have the same gene pool, whether rich or poor, touchable and untouchables. It is unfortunate that the message of love and compassion hasn’t sunk in deep despite religious chores and discourses. “Sarve bhavantu sukhinah”(May all be happy) has only become a way to sing, hear and let out through another ear. It is our bounden duty to protect biological diversity. Greater the variety of life, greater will be the happiness and prosperity. Nature makes a gene with purpose and so is the case with a species. When different species interact to constitute an ecosystem it becomes all the more fascinating. They need habitats as we do. We can extrapolate our values from them. They give us a holistic approach to life. They capture energy, produce materials and decompose as per cosmic design. They give us something to eat, something to cure our diseases, and add to economical wealth, and happiness. Introspection is a part of human faculty. Man is endowed with huge cerebrum to dwell on the past and future, and into the existence of the universe and its inhibitors, and creators (forces). The question of who we are and where we have come from, and what are we supposed to do (karma) is a subject much too profound. It takes us beyond the scope of science to the realm of something we revere! 7:02:34 PM Posted By nirmal mishra Comments (1) Musings Comments K.Venugopal Thursday, December 7, 2006 8:29:00 PM Well written and thoughtfully written. I agree with what you say. Corruption would end only in the individual who no longer has any sense of lack. This sense would come about only if we calm our restless mind and find in the state of restfulness that we are complete and have no need for anything.