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.

Faith and Fragility

A famous tale is told of Gautama Buddha - he was peacefully meditating under a tree when an angry traveler arrived on the scene and started hurling abuses against Buddha. Unmoved by the tirade, the glow and peace of Buddha never changed and the radiating energy had a calming effect on the traveler whose anger slowly settled and awestruck, the man patiently waited for Buddha's meditation to come to an end. After some time, Buddha opened his eyes and with a serene smile looked at the man. The now not-so-flustered traveler enquired, "Tathagata, I insulted and abuse you, yet you never reacted. Did you not feel bad or hurt?". Buddha calmly responded, "Suppose you would want to give me a gift and I refuse to accept it, with whom will the gift stay? You, right? It is my choice whether I accept the gift and it is also my choice whether I accept the abuse." 

A Hindu society which has grown up on a steady diet of such stories - stories from the Panchatantra, from the Jataka, from Mahabharat, from Ramayana or from the Upanishads - such a Hindu society is geared to be at poise, be graceful and be calm. Whether or not, a child has been read out such stories by his/her grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts or teachers, the natural centuries of conditioning shines through making the child (and his/her future adult version) less susceptible to a violent reaction to abuse or hurt inflicted later on in life.

Having grown up like this, it is now but natural to wonder why does this Hindu society respond/react in the times today (especially since May 2014) with a rush of adrenaline, with anger and with 'intolerance' towards any abuse thrown at its gods, at its scriptures and at its symbols - case in point, Amazon Prime's Tandav web-series (the background can be found here and here). Are we over-reacting as a society? Are we, as many liberal individuals have pointed out, so fragile that our faith gets threatened at the drop of a hat?

Battleground of Relationships

On a hot afternoon in Coleman, Texas, a family is comfortably playing dominoes on a porch, until the father-in-law suggests that they take a 50-mile trip to Abilene for dinner. The wife says, "Sounds like a great idea." The husband, despite having reservations because the drive is long and hot, thinks that his preferences must be out-of-step with the group and says, "Sounds good to me. I just hope your mother wants to go." The mother-in-law then says, "Of course I want to go. I haven't been to Abilene in a long time." The drive is hot, dusty, and long. When they arrive at the cafeteria, the food is as bad as the drive. They arrive back home four hours later, exhausted. One of them dishonestly says, "It was a great trip, wasn't it?" The mother-in-law says that, actually, she would rather have stayed home, but went along since the other three were so enthusiastic. The husband says, "I wasn't delighted to be doing what we were doing. I only went to satisfy the rest of you." The wife says, "I just went along to keep you happy. I would have had to be crazy to want to go out in the heat like that." The father-in-law then says that he only suggested it because he thought the others might be bored. The group sits back, perplexed that they together decided to take a trip which none of them wanted. They each would have preferred to sit comfortably, but did not admit to it when they still had time to enjoy the afternoon.  This story is what management expert Jerry Harvey, termed as the Abilene Paradox, to explain why groups of people end up achieving outcomes which none of them wanted in the first place. The story is also reflective of the quintessential Bhaaratiya family and by extension, society. Though it is a paradox, this very concept of valuing emotions of the rest of the family members/society has held us, as a generic society, in good stead for a very long time. Thus, because we (barring exceptions here or there) are conditioned in a way to take 'one', 'two', 'three' and more for the team, we have refrained from getting into controversial or confrontational emotional scenarios at home or at work.

The Heavier Burden....

There has been some time since I have returned from Hyderabad after a fulfilling and enriching two months experience with men who have a deep insight into their work. My internship reminded me, as has happened through other events many times before, that the depth of the ocean can never be gauged. Knowledge has no limits and no boundaries! In one word - Magical ! The word "limit" has also churned a few thoughts here and there but that will be a separate blog later though a starter would be in this blog itself. Today, I want to share a story which I have already shared on my facebook page but was yet to share my understanding of it as it has a leeway to be interpreted in a way I would not like us youth to. Well, the story goes as --

Escaping the Matrix (part II) ....

Continued from Escaping the Matrix (part I) ....

In this 2nd part of the blog, I present my views about the concept of the Matrix as I understand it. Please go through part I before continuing. For readers who have not seen the movies - I have presented a short summary of the Trilogy in part I.

"The freedom we are looking for is the freedom to be ourselves, to express ourselves. But if we look at our lives, we will see that most of the time we do things just to please others. The worst part is that most of us are not aware that we are not free."

Don Miguel Ruiz

I believe that there is a same undercurrent in this life of ours as has been depicted in the movies. Now, instead of a giant Matrix seen in the movie, I believe all of us are plugged into cascading matrices with differing levels of power. The matrices differ not only in the power but also on the grounds of influence and intensity.

Escaping the Matrix (part I) ....

It has been over a month since I last blogged @ Livin' Free. Nikhil had it to himself and I am glad he came out with his story and hope it appealed to all of you, my friends. My last semester exams have ended and I have nothing much to do than watch movies, play games, read stuff, eat and most importantly sleep like a lion!
I sincerely apologize to the most hardcore movie buffs for the next sentence - I saw The Matrix Trilogy (The Matrix, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions) yesterday; hats off to the Wachowski Brothers and the entire crew who have created this Masterpiece. In the trilogy too, like most times, I have found something I can learn from and hence would be sharing it on the blog. Though, improbable it might be but for those who have not yet viewed the movies (people like my father who are still on the 'dark side' regarding the matter just as I was 2 days back!), I will request you to acquire them first and go through it before continuing further as that will help me reach up to you better.

A Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?

Into the month of March and as the World Cup action picks up with Ireland's upset of England a few days back and South Africa again going "chokers" to cave-in to a 6 run defeat against England today while chasing a small total of 171, a few important news might just be missed during the news scan. Today I want to highlight another courageous act of defiance and truth plus a technological progress by the Nation thanks to the DRDO. 

DRDO successfully fired a Missile Interceptor and achieved desired results off the coast of Orissa. A variant of the Prithvi II was intercepted successfully by the interceptor which was fired 5 minutes after the target missile. This test bolsters the nation's defence capabilities and is a shot in the arm for building a shield against foreign threats.

Now speaking of interceptors, one brave interceptor lost his life on March 2, 2011 in Jharkhand.

The Real Coffee....

"Shrink Wrap" is a material made of polymer plastic film which shrinks or contracts upon itself when heat is applied to it. It is a wonderful metaphor which I encountered a few days back while reading the article The Shrink Wrapping of India in Times Crest.

We as a nation are crazy about anything which is Western. Western clothing, food, aesthetic styles, life and the list goes on and on. While there is nothing wrong about choosing the very best when it comes to buying comforts, it certainly is a problem when one is not detached from it and gives his/her mind to it. As Swami Vivekananda puts it, "Detachment from the material world is living in the midst of it all but not being influenced by it."

The Mind Virus....

I read a letter recently by Dr. Robert Anthony which spoke about The Mind Virus -- The Negative influence of the media. He goes on to explain his solution to the issue or ways to prevent being infected by the mind virus. I found a few take aways but also found some part which I believe is a negative approach which is a contradiction in itself to what the author states. The letter is as follows --

Loss by Chance, Win by Choice....

I came by an interesting story worth sharing and drawing inferences from. It goes as...

In an academic class of 100 students, the professor once announced that there would not be the conventional grading system henceforth. The tests will be conducted as per normal rules but the marking system will be different. He said that all students will have the same grade irrespective of his/her personal score. After the results are calculated, the scores will be averaged and the average score will be the score of each and every student. So, there might be a few 90% scores while a few 30% scores but both these classes will have the same grade and marks according to the new system.

Naturally, the high scoring and hard working students were disappointed while the low scoring students were elated. Of course, it is assumed here that the high scoring students are nowhere connected to the state education board!!

In the calendar year there were 4 tests. In the 1^st test, the average score was 60%. Every student above 60% was dejected at his score and those below partied hard and enjoyed this unprecedented success. The 2^nd test had the average score of 50%, then 40% for the 3^rd and finally 30%, i.e. all failed for the last test.

Understanding the psychology of the students,