Virus, Vista and Vedas

The receding second wave of the #ChineseCommunistVirus in May 2021 has witnessed a much higher death toll than the first wave and that has naturally led to further fraying of emotions. I saw multiple arguments afloat during this time, that focused on targeting any activity/expenditure from the government or even private institutions that was not directly connected to fighting the pandemic. The notable targets were the Central Vista and the ongoing construction of the Raam Mandir. In today's blog, I intend to present certain perspectives at play divided into three sections - one, base facts on the health sector & more; two, a micro-level inspection of the fabled Temple vs Hospital or Religion vs Science or Economic Projects vs Human health arguments and three, a macro level presentation on Bhaarat's Temple Ecosystem. I am hoping that the write-up will nudge the reader to give a nice thought - take what appeals to him/her and leave everything else behind.

PART 1: Disregarding Science!

The following table provides a snapshot of certain measurable parameters:

The hyperlinked references for the above can be checked out here, here, here, here and here.

Apart from the predominantly health related metrics above, it is key to visit some of our country's scientific achievements:

Take ISRO to begin with - the K. Sivan led organisation's commercial arm dealing specifically with foreign customers, Antrix Corporation, has earned total revenues of Rs. 6289cr from 2017-2019. Additionally, the NSIL (New Space India Ltd; est. 2019) which caters to the domestic space manufacturing capacity expansion, has earned Rs. 300cr in its first year with multiple plans on the anvil such as the Moon & Mars missions and the ambitious Gaganyaan. Another bright spot in the scientific progress of India in the recent past is DRDO - the 2DG breakthrough notwithstanding, there is a whole host of indigenous development to recap that goes from radars & defense systems to the much visible Sep. 2020 Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle Test. The joint collaboration of the two, Mission Shakti, resulted into the Anti-Satellite Missile tested in early 2019 - making Bhaarat only the fourth country to achieve this feat. We can now add HAL also to the mix which witnessed the successful clearance to the LCA Tejas Mk-I by the IAF. Coupled with the revamp in defense policy in the Manohar Parrikar era, the efforts of these organisations have started yielding dividends as India's defense imports have fallen by 33% in last five years.

Even beyond the sector of defense, The Atal Innovation Mission is a prime example to the steady investment of time & money being put into encouraging and supporting scientific thinking & growth right from a young age. One such example are the novel Atal Tinkering Labs - 7200 & counting, 1.1L+ projects sanctioned. Finally, who can negate the Dr. Krishna Ella-led Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN - an indigenous COVID vaccine from development to delivery!

There is no doubt that we still lack in terms of health infrastructure or doctor/thousand population ratio but no nation builds infrastructure for peak capacity demand and a close comparative look at the performance of the entire globe against the pandemic will provide a realistic picture on vaccine economics, capacity/production, logistics & more. For the interested reader, I have attempted to explain the same in my previous blog: In Queue, In Quandary.

Thus, I'll leave it to the reader to judge whether the charge 'health & science is being ignored by our leadership' holds merit or not. 

PART 2: Validity of the 'vs' ?

Under the principle of choice of one implies discarding the other, can I ask the reader to choose one from each of the following pairs : Food vs Clothing, Home vs Entertainment, Car/Bike vs Vacations and Mobile phones vs Treadmill/Gym.

Is it possible to make a straightforward choice for any of these pairs? The reader would note that each of these four pairs and the respective eight choices form notable components of our daily life, i.e. integral part of our monthly financial budget. The forms, the extravagance, the mode and the chronological arrangement might differ but in essence, all the sub-choices are an undeniable part of our material existence. In that case, how logical is it to insert 'vs' between any two choices? Doesn't the word 'vs' become dangerous and if used in the wrong place, easily lead to wrong decisions?

If you are hungry, a cloth is practically useless; if you are feeling very cold, a good sweater will go a long way to help you but a samosa will be of no use at all!

If you are fully bugged with a long working week, a nice bout of outdoorly entertainment - say the movies or a weekend theme park visit will be of great use while your own home might simply drive you crazy!

Your car or bike would be as useful as carbon-di-oxide if you wish to travel to Mauritius for a long deserved vacation!

Your dumbbells or treadmill would offer you no solace if you wish to urgently contact a loved one but a mobile phone might!

If the objective is to satiate hunger, then the choices can range across food cuisines or fruits etc. If the objective is to experience a lovely entertainment filled evening, then the choices can range across various genre of movies currently screening. If the objective is to have a good Sunday workout, then the choices can range between treadmill or exercise bike at home to going to a gym or going for a swim etc. The point being, if the end objective that certain set of choices hope to achieve is not aligned at the level at which the decision is being made, rational comparability is completely lost.

I remember the tale of a man who has lost his gold ring in the dead of the night. The man is searching hard for the ring under a street lamp when a passerby stops and politely inquires of the problem. Once the passerby learns of the lost ring, he offers to help the man and asks him where has he lost the ring. To which, the man points to a clump of trees few hundred metres away. Filled with curiosity, the passerby questions him, "Sir, if you know you have lost the ring way over there by the trees, why are you searching for it here near the street lamp?" The man replies, "Because that is where the light is!". Exasperated, the passerby simply walks away!

This I think is exactly what is wrong with the arguments of Temple vs Hospital or Religion vs Science or Economic projects (e.g. Central Vista) vs Vaccinations. All six of these have specific purposes and they have to be judged under those specific purposes only. Nevertheless in comparative terms for factual reasons, nearly twice the budgetary allocation of The Central Vista project is done for vaccinations. While the project is going to witness Rs. 20000cr expenditure across four years, vaccination has a budgetary allocation of Rs. 35000cr. While the latter is a sunk cost without recoveries, the Central Vista is expected to save Rs. 1000cr annually in rental expenses. More so, Vista creates jobs, churns economic spending and thereby contributes to the money flow that sustains any nation. As far as the non-economic aspect goes, any person who follows parliament sessions would know that the seating is cramped and uncomfortable. It is nearly 100-year old structure that needs upgradation. Stalling projects is what has taken us from one ditch to another - it is because some twisted agenda driven NGO or sanctimonious liberal or a freeloading communist objected to infrastructure many times over since independence, that India lacks medical infrastructure or energy self-sufficiency etc. Wouldn't that repeat itself few decades down the line due to stalling done today?

Not too different is the case with Raam Mandir as well - it is a fully crowd-funded project with no governmental expenditure; the comparative question doesn't even arise! Thus, if man needs comfort, peace and reassurance in his life, he might visit temples to offer him that whether it be from the melodious aartis or the wisdom of matha pramookhs. If another man is in need of critical medical care, he should be going to the hospital. Thus, if one man needs one object or experience, it doesn't mean every man needs the same object or experience. If you want to rent a cab, you'll most probably book via Ola or Uber; not stomp over to a McDonald's and ask them to raise a fleet of cabs!

If our educated liberal brethren choose to move from the switch-like binary mechanism that a 'vs' or 'instead' or 'build hospitals not temples' introduces to a musical mixer like gradient mechanism, then there is a lot that can be achieved by us collectively. I'll try to briefly summarize that in the next and final part of this blog.

PART 3: Shiva Shakti Sangam

In year 2001, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Centre Studies had published a report The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective authored by British economist, Angus Maddison. Obviously so, it is important I refer to a westerner and that too an economist belonging to the same nation that ruled over us for nearly two hundred years. Page 263 of this report has a nice table that represents proportion of world GDP by countries (and regions) changing from years 0-1998. As per Maddison's study, India contributed 32.9% of World GDP in year 0 and 28.9% in year 1000. In 1001, Mahmud of Ghazni defeated Jayapala of Gandhara in the Battle of Peshawar. From 1160 to 1176, Ghuri dynasty captured Ghazni lands and by 1191, had covered entire modern day Pakistan to reach Ajmer in Rajasthan. In 1192, after facing multiple defeats earlier at the hands of Prithviraaj, Muhammed Ghuri finally succeeded. After the Ghuris the throne was occupied by the Mamluks (1206), Khiljis (1290), Tughlaq (1320), Sayyid (1414) and Lodhi (1451). The Lodhis ruled till 1526 before they fell against the Mughals. From 1000-1500, India's GDP shrunk from 28.9% to 24.5% which remained so for the next two hundred and fifty years as the raiders made this nation their own - an occupied Islamic land filled with resistance movements, greatest among which was the great Maratha empire. The 1757 Battle of Plassey was when the British gained their foothold in the Indian subcontinent and by the time they were to leave in 1947, India's GDP proportion was to fall off a cliff to 4.2% (as of 1950) - a massive 20 percentage chunk bitten off.

Having traced this journey from year 0-1950, it is prudent to ask - did the British bring development to Bhaarat or did Bhaarat lose its development to the British? To that effect, it is only logical to ask what clicked for us that we were 32.9% of World GDP in year 0. What were the practices, systems, mechanics, governance policies and socio-economic principles followed that made this possible? The answer to that lies in the Temple Ecosystem of Ancient Bhaarat.

Imagine a beautiful temple with excellent mesmerizing artwork - still seen across multiple temples throughout our country, especially in southern regions. While the temple construction would need architects, builders and workmen, the artwork would need trained sculptors. Once constructed, a temple would be a home for a deity who would need a pujari. A pujari would need puja samagri as well as Vedic education. The need for education spawned Veda Pathshalas attracting gurus and shishyas alike. The resident gurukul structure would witness establishment of gaushalas to provide for the students and the families living in the temple complex as well as those around. The temple would naturally attract different individuals from varied provisions thereby giving rise to a forum for debates/discussions as well as theaters for cultural programmes and classical performance arts. I can quote the example of Gujarat's Akshardham Temple which has a wonderful light-and-sound show and a fantastic museum that houses beautiful paintings and artwork. To this day, Akshardham's light-and-show rendition of Yama-Nachiketa from the Kathopanishad is one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had. Anyway, getting back to the temples - attraction of crowds helped develop economic market places around temples thus making the institution of the temple, a proverbial hub of the hub-and-spoke model and an eclectic epicentre of cultural and socio-economic activity. Rajas donated to temples and Rishis were known to be key advisors to many glorious kings in our history. The temples thus became the greatest binders of Hindu culture. The culture sustains the civilization; when invaders successfully corrupted our culture, so did the decline of the civilization start and gain momentum. That is why we lost many languages, many art pieces, many art forms and importantly, many significant dharmic teachings from year 1000 to year 1950 - the decline of culture traced the decline of the GDP.

(Note: I found a short and sweet six-year old article by Sandeep Balkrishna on the topic; additionally, Sita Ram Goel's two volume book series Hindu Temples: What happened to them might also interest a research oriented reader)

The restoration of the Temple Ecosystem hence is mandatory for the revival of our Indic culture. Many legal (Art. 25-30 of Indian Constitution, HR&CE acts of individual states etc) and illegal (Breaking India forces or The Chrislamocommie Ecosystem) obstructions are in the way. Even a basic de-regulation would free up temples today to exponentially expand their direct economic contribution to the nation's GDP and trigger indirect contribution as well. However, that would be a separate topic in itself.

To conclude, I'll go back to the musical mixer analogy -  every individual is made up of masculine and feminine traits, not to be confused with gender. The latter is outwardly and physical while the former is more subtle in its form. Masculine traits are represented by logic, data and rationale while the feminine is the abode of beliefs, faith and emotions. It is the musical mixture of these traits that guide an individual's life; and collectively, the life of a nation enabling it to survive and thrive. One without the other means cosmic imbalance and chaos. For some, the Chinese concept of Yin & Yang might be relatable. In Vedic terminology, it is the Shiva Shakti Sangam.

If hospitals and science give the nation its Shiva essence, temples and religion empower its Shakti !

Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha

Jai Hind!