Tablet Age

Human history has already passed through Stone Age, Iron Age and Bronze Age. Even when computers started establishing their supremacy on all aspects of human life no one thought of calling it a Computer Age. This is because of the simple fact that computing is part of our lives in the modern age and making some machines to do things faster for us is not a big deal. When ordinary telephones became mobile our communications increased several fold and when mobiles turned over their third generation our touches became much more powerful. But the new offspring of computers and mobile is going to be a game changer in every sense. A formidable combination of computers and mobiles, the tablet avatar, is destined to change human history forever. We will have no choice but to term contemporary times as the dawn of a new age – Tablet Age.

There are at least ten different brands of tablets already in the market. Apple started the tablet tsunami and it is sure that we will have a choice in hundreds by the end of the decade. What makes these tablets so powerful? First of all they combine the powerful trio of computer, internet and telephone. In the so-called era of convergence, such a gadget would embody the complete spirit of convergence. Then tablets are essentially wire-free and very soon the concept and requirement of any wiring will vanish. And finally tablets can be made in any configuration with or without special features, and it will soon be available in a wide spectrum of prices. People from all strata of our society will have access to some form of a tablet in a very brief history of time. The social implications of such a scenario can be far-reaching if we as mankind do not make the mistake again, like what we did with atomic fission.

Tablet Possibilities

Greatest advantage of a tablet PC is its size and shape.  The credit goes exclusively to Steve Jobs and Apple who took a great risk while launching their IPad tablet. Perhaps the intuition he gained during his hippi-days in India gave Steve Jobs some Rishi-like intuition. Till then every one in the industry had thought that such a size and shape will be rejected by the users. But the real fact was that the entire world was waiting for such a gadget which can compute, communicate and entertain us. All the inconveniences about not being able to carry it in your pocket have vanished in no time. Mobile devices were too small to promote extended reading. Netbooks and laptops were too heavy to become part of our casual luggage. But the tablets are going much beyond all these. It is becoming an extended part of our body and already there are many who cannot live without.

But the biggest breakthrough with tablets is going to be in its pricing. There is no doubt that within a decade we are going to have tablets with almost same set of features priced from USD 50 to USD 500 flooding the market. Quite in parallel with this will be the growth of wi-fi, 3G and 4G coverage over almost the entire planet. The scenario of a tablet in every hand in a wi-fi area is definitely not a distant possibility. What can be better empowerment than this? It is already said in lighter vein that many of our children have much more access to any information they want than even presidents of nations a decade ago. If a substantial section of human beings can have such a luxury the changes it can bring about are beyond imagination. Access to right information irrespective of gender, race, colour and even geography can change our entire decision making process.
           
Tablet Education

One of the definite possibilities in the Tablet Age will be the explosion of education and literacy cutting across social strata, gender, geography and age. The biggest background work that is presently underway in IT industry relates to preparation of materials fit for tablet enabled education (TEE). Almost all the industry majors and worldwide entrepreneurs are on the job and it is undoubtedly a multi billion market. Conventional schools will disappear and there is future only for institutes of higher learning offering on-the-job training in areas that cannot be substituted with virtual systems. The process is going to be slow but the number of people involved will be in millions. An educational revolution in the same pattern of industrial revolution, but at a much faster pace, is going to change our universe like nothing before.

A large section of world’s population remains poor only because of they are uneducated, illiterate and at the mercy of religious fanaticism. We still have so many who cannot survive even if they are offered everything they need. What is lacking in such people is the right skills for survival and the capability to pick up such skills. Generations of social or religious dictatorships have extinguished the rational thirsts of such people. But rationality cannot be taken away from human beings and given the right environment it will sprout again. Tablet age is sure to provide the right climate for emancipation of such people reeling under blinding books, single god and fear of hell.  Tablets will become the much needed torch lights for all those who are locked up in the dungeons of ignorance.

Mankind is on the verge another positive discovery after someone accidentally lighted the first fire and recited ‘loka samasta sukhino bhavantu’. The name and form of tablets in an omnipresent and omnipotent wi-fi universe and knowledge accumulation over the public clouds can change our societies forever. There will be attempts by the fanatics to hijack the new platform. Unbridled transparency being the most essential nature of the new tool, all such attempts are bound to fail. For every virus let loose by the fanatics there will be thousands of immediate antidotes from a highly connected world and that would bring instantaneous deaths to their ideas itself. Such sudden deaths to fanatical ideas and orders would have made our planet a virtual heaven already. Tablets are going to achieve what nuclear bombs could not. 

Converted in Vain

One of the most prosperous ‘business’ in today’s world is that of religious conversion. Democracy in one form or another is bound to blossom all over the world one day and all the organized religions are preparing for seizing power through ballot boxes. In democratic arrangements, numbers determine everything and those religious communities that pray for universal well being and voluntarily follow family planning policies can appear to be idiotic and foolish. But that may not necessarily be the obvious end result. Those who are experts in the religious conversion business know that the process is indeed reversible. If humans are deceived by false promises and coerced during difficult times to convert, the reverse will automatically follow when they realize the truth during better times. As the saying goes, some people can be fooled for some time, but not all people for all times. 

 

India has always been a fertile ground for religious conversion for the missionary forces spearheaded by Europeans and Arabians. Though Christian missionaries pioneered in the field, the sudden enrichment of Arabian peninsula by oil discoveries in the fifties and sixties has resulted in stiff competition from the Islamic forces as well. India’s native religion has always been and will remain unorganized, liberal and highly flexible. A billion such humans is a huge attraction in the religious phishing market and billions of dollars and dinars are poring into India every year to catch as many preys as possible. It has been going on for many centuries, but the marketing efforts of the competing forces have reached a highpoint now. Both the two competitors have started eating into their rival’s portion more than the vast common areas still unexplored. From such competitive heights, their fall will be much more sudden, steep and unpredictable, especially when so many of the successive generations of victims have started feeling that their forefathers converted in vain.        

 

False Promises

 

Human behaviour will always follow the established pattern of hierarchy of needs in any culture or civilization. The same has happened in India. At one time Indian nation was the richest in the world in every sense. Its indigenous wealth and philosophy could easily satisfy all the physical and spiritual needs of all its citizens. No outsider had any scope for interference and Indians never looked outside for anything. Adventurists from all over the world were coming to India to see and experience the wonder that was India. Trouble started when ideological explosions happened elsewhere and spill over isms wanted to recruit more people into their fold to dominate the world. Colonisation of the free world by those who were discontent and dissatisfied with whatever they had at home started off the real problems in today’s world. Looted wealth from the colonies and accidental discoveries of freely available natural resources has provided the momentum for marketing their own version of God and religion as the best.

 

Looting of colonies continued unabated for centuries and what India lost is perhaps unimaginable in real terms now. Christian missionaries and Islamic preachers who followed their plundering frontline had enough crowd to convert and more than enough wealth to lure them. All those who were starving for food had little objection to accept any form of God if milk powder and bread are made available. And those who had no clothes and shelter accepted any form of worship if such basic requirements are freely available. But the basic human needs of food, clothing and shelter fall in the realm of physical requirements and have nothing to do with God and religion. Those who go for fishing with plastic baits can deceive only the first few and may risk their own lives by eating the fish with plastic inside. The logic of religious conversion is crystal clear when we find that the Christian and Islamic missionaries in India are still targeting only the poor in the most backward areas. More than others, they know how weak and hollow are their arguments of superiority. Most of their theory and practices are nothing but poor copies of the original eternal one.     

 

Feasible Solutions

 

Religious conversion is a revolution when it is done voluntarily. But forced or coercive religious conversion is a heinous crime against humanity. Those who indulge in it are destroying the very essence of their individuality and existence. Those who were following Sanatana Dharma for thousands of years over several generations have the basic ingredients of it engraved in their DNAs Forcibly changing them to follow foreign beliefs and dogmas is like throwing the fish out of water. There is no doubt any ideology or ism undergoes a evolutionary process and along its path it will accumulate lot of unwanted beliefs and practices. The so-called caste discrimination in Hindu religion is one such and it has lost its foundation in the current evolved Advaita form of Hindu Sanatana Dharma. Castes (groups or sections of people bound by common heritage) will continue to exist in one form or another, but no discrimination is possible on account of that.

 

 And if the scourge of caste discrimination can be eliminated from Hindu Sanatana Dharma, the door must be kept wide open for the reverse revolution to take place. Those who have revolted against discrimination and made the supreme mistake of abandoning their own legitimate home must be able to come back and rejoin their family. This must be easily possible in a truly secular India where the religion of candidates is not asked for providing food, shelter, clothing, health and education. Those who converted to alien faiths in search of equality must realize their mistake when those same religions are demanding reservations for converts from ‘lower’ castes. Other than the false promise of equality, there was absolutely nothing that would have attracted the converts in comparison with what they had in Hindu Sanatana Dharma.

 

 

It has been established time and again that in terms of spiritual heights, rational depths and practical freedom, there is no other faith that can stand anywhere near Hindu Sanatana Dharma. Its philosophical algorithm is something like an open source code in comparison to the closed ones provided by others. It is left to the individuals to modify and adopt the code in tune with one’s own capabilities. Since God is present in everything that we can think of, there is nothing that can stand between us and God like in other religions. Sankara’s final stamp of approval on Advaita has taken Hindu Sanatana Dharma to a different philosophical plane and all that we need to do is to take it back to its days of glory once again by allowing the free return of all those who converted in vain . 

Mullaperiyar Dam'age’

Bharat was divided on the basis of religion into India and Pakistan (and now Bangladesh). Thereafter India was split into several pieces on the basis of languages. Tamil Nadu and Kerala came into being on the basis of languages, but the umbilical chord that runs through the nation in the form of our common culture and civilization cannot be erased so easily. Moreover, Malayalam, the language of Kerala, is nothing but an offspring of Sanskrit and Tamil in almost equal measure. But the horrific picture of a Mullaperiyar Dam (situated in Kerala for providing water for a few districts in Tamil Nadu) that is about to burst at any time has brought in more damage to the friendliest of relations that have existed for hundreds of generations. An innocuous dam that is providing lifeline to more than four districts of Tamil Nadu has suddenly become a water bomb that is threatening the lives of millions in Kerala. 

Every dam is a potential hazard and it is definitely more so when it is over a hundred years old. Mankind has mastered the science of predicting almost anything except of course a few natural phenomena like earth quakes. They can occur at any place and at any time. The scientific explanations in terms of fault planes that occur later remain as irrelevant and useless as our explanations about the fluctuations in currency rates and gold prices after they occur. But such unpredictable natural phenomena have never prevented mankind from progress and development. We have always found reasonable solutions to all our problems by use of appropriate technology in scientific ways. The same scientific temper should have taken the lead in finding a solution to the dam issue. But instead some known evil forces have taken the lead to misuse the opportunity for their own petty ends. The damage it has done is much more far-reaching than the reach of life-giving water it provides. 

Real Reasons

Biggest bane of Kerala’s political democracy is the existence of ‘needle’ communal parties and its complete polarization into two political coalitions. Though power always shifts from one to the other every five years, these needle parties always find a few slots in the ministries and that invariably results in the undoing of whatever good the ministries achieve. It is quite surprising to note how such rabidly communal parties can operate in a so-called secular country. A nation which was divided on the basis of religion can allow the growth of communal political parties only at its own peril. Yet the narrow political objective of the so-called national parties is failing the soul of Indian nation once again. There are so many reasons to conclude that the present spurt in dam alarm is on account of meeting of minds of two such rabidly communal political parties in power – one with intense local interests and another one because they are indifferent about the place.

The timing of the spurt in agitation is also very much noticeable. Sabarimala shrine has been a problem for many for many decades because of its location amidst an unfriendly environment. Its unprecedented growth in terms of number of pilgrims and the resultant potential of evolving into a much awaited unifying force multiplier cutting across all forms of man-made divisions within the majority community is a nightmare for many political players in the God’s Own country. The state has the maximum number of emigrants and most of the major decisions about Kerala now are taken abroad by collegiums of our own men and international forces with their own agenda. It rarely happens but the dam provided a unique opportunity for all the players to come together and make the best ‘use’ of the dam. After the Sabarimala season the whole cacophony has died down and that makes the situation much more suspicious.

Real Solutions

But the potential problem associated with any water reservoir dam is always existent and it has to be addressed in normal course in a purely scientific manner. A dam is also to be treated as a utility with an economic value associated with it, and like all utility equipment, its annual depreciation must provide enough reserves to rebuild once it passes the allowable age. Mullaperiyar dam has already crossed its limit and technologists must suggest the best solution. India has some of the best technological institutions and brains in the current world and it is not at all an issue to get a study done within a few months. Politics is a curse when it gets mixed with anything else and politicians must be kept out of the picture in all such scientific pursuits. This should include even those who have come into politics from the fields of science and technology. Only ‘sitting’ technologists must indulge in such scientific studies. And in a democracy like India the final decision will always be that of the elected government.

It is also time for all of us to understand that other than unconditional love (which is perhaps only from parents and spouse), all that sustains our lives has a price. Strictly speaking there is absolutely nothing that is free of cost. This is true with regard to the air we breathe, the water we drink and the earth we tread on. Whatever be the history behind it, all the beneficiaries of Mullaperiyar dam must realize that they have to pay for the services it is providing and allow for reconstruction when its useful life is over. It is drinking water and breathing air, and not oil and gas, that are going to be the premium commodities in twenty first century. The beneficiary state must be willing to compensate the rightful owner of dam and its water in the case of Mullaperiyar. Kerala and Tamil Nadu must be willing to finalise a purely commercial agreement for sale of water, and not in wasting their time and energy by allowing petty politics (and politicians) to hijack such sensitive issues.

 
But all said and done, the damage caused in the name of dam’s age, is going to take years to heal. The mean manipulators have also tasted success by the fall in number of Sabarimala pilgrims and the sense of insecurity it has created among those who visited Sabarimala this year. There is no doubt that the same evil forces will be at full bloom next year too at the same time to repeat their show of insane solidarity. They know very well that a few years of repeated efforts will achieve what they really intended. Barring the laudable levels of literacy achieved by the state, all other indications about Kerala are highly alarming and worrisome. The God’s Own Country in terms of its landscape and natural resources is slowly slipping into another Valley of Discontent, quite in line with a nasty NRI agenda.        

Civilisational Cultures

In very simple terms, one’s culture is what one will think and do if one gets lost in an island with the full knowledge that there is no chance of being rescued. The true self in each one of us will come out only then and that is our true culture. Culture of civilizations follows the same pattern. Each of the civilizations has developed in isolation and is truly representative of the culture of people who constitute them. Many of the civilizations have died out and the few remaining continue to progress reflecting the core culture that makes them different. Whatever be the changes brought about by progress and development, the essential nature of our culture will always be reflected in whatever we do as a civilization and ultimately as a nation. In very broad terms, we can always categorise the world civilizations into three types based on their core activities during their formative periods viz. Agri-culture, Tradi-culture and Coloni-culture.

‘Agri’culture

Indian civilization is essentially an agricultural one and Indian culture is replete with the nature, symbols and characteristics of agriculture. Agriculture requires great insight, immense efforts and unlimited patience. The essential nature of Indian nation and Indian people still reflect these three unique characteristics. In terms of culture and civilization, India is the only continuing civilization that has survived uninterrupted for the entire recorded past. All others, be it Chinese, Japanese, Western, American or African, have undergone drastic changes (and revolutions) and are not the same that was one thousand years ago. Agricultural civilizations do not peak so much and will not die out completely. There will be ups and downs, but within a limited bandwidth. This is very evident in the case of India, whose civilization peaked during the vedic period and waned during the one thousand years of Mughals and British rule. But immense patience, tolerance and inherent truth and strength in its basic beliefs will ensure its continued presence till the end of time. We do not know when agriculture began, but we know it will never end. Similar is the case of agricultural civilizations. They have no beginning and no end (sanatana). So is the case with Hindu Sanatana Dharma (HSD) which is the core of Indian civilization.  

‘Tradi’culture

In sharp contrast to Agriculture, we have Trading cultures which do not produce or own anything by their own efforts. All they have is some money to buy and sell agricultural and other products. In the process they make profit which is used for further trading. The civilizations in West Asia fall under this category. Their lands are barren and not fit for agriculture. They never had settlements and used to spend their entire life as nomads buying goods from one place and selling it at another place. Their relationships were transient and there was never time enough for studies and producing literature for entertainment and enlightenment. Their approach to life was one of complete adhocism trying to sort out issues as they come by. Needless to say that such people had no concept of lasting relationships and never found time to introspect on the deepest mysteries of nature. It was easier to attribute everything to a creator and discipline the rogue crowd with fear. The few lasting contributions to world heritage by these West Asians are limited to those from settlements in the present day Iran and Iraq. Unexpected discovery of ‘black gold’ in the 1950s’ that brought in the present day filthy richness among these people have not touched the basic culture of these people one bit.     

‘Coloni’culture

Quite different from the other two, the culture of colonial people is always oriented towards the loot they can manage from their colonies. Unlike agriculturists and traders, the colonizers do not carry out any constructive work or make or produce anything at all. They are adept only in usurping the fruits of labour by others, just like what we do with the honey made by honeybees. The case of established colonial nations in Europe exemplifies this attitude in very clear terms. Europe is rich today only because of the toil and tears of civilizations in Asia and Africa during yesteryears and even now. Left to them, colonial cultures cannot sustain themselves on the food and wealth created by themselves. They would always need the efforts of others for their own benefit and have developed immense skills (now embedded in their DNAs) in management of others. Extra-ordinary adeptness of the colonizers in managing others by putting ‘friends and enemies’ among ‘enemies and friends’ is evident even today in West Asia, Latin America, Africa and South Asia. These people show an exemplary sense of fairness when dealing with disputes involving other cultures and that makes them the natural choice in world disputes. However, it is very difficult for the ‘coloni’culturists who are used to an easy lifestyle to come out of it.

It is very evident that the one and only truly sustainable culture in this planet is the one related to agriculture. No other way of living can provide the food for survival and food for thought together in a sustainable manner. In fact the unparalleled continuity of Sanatana Hindu civilization in India for the past ten thousand odd years without any major change can be explained only on the basis of its agricultural base. Immense hope, struggle, patience and truly secular behavior of a ‘Sanatani Hindu’ – Mahatma Gandhi claimed himself to be one – can be directly attributed to his or her cultural background in agriculture which requires all these attributes to succeed. Continued negligence of the agricultural sector in India by those in power will only weaken the cultural foundations of our civilization in the long run.   

Corruption, Conversion and Subversion

Atleast half the citizens of the great Indian nation are involved in one of these three – Corruption or Conversion or Subversion. It is a matter of great concern and shame that the land of Mahatma Gandhi could achieve such a dubious status within half a century of its liberation from the British rule. Prevalence of the three evils in our society makes it difficult to believe that this great nation had once given births to the likes of Lord Budha and Guru Nanak, and Lord Krishna and Lord Rama in the ancient times. We can find solace only by blaming it all on the invaders, conquerors and colonial powers which brought in their filthy ideologies into this pristine nation of Hindu Sanatana Dharma. Situation is so bad in India today that the existence of India as one nation will be called into question again and again in the days to come. Formidable forces are at work in building up conditions similar to 1947 or even worse once again. And the ill designed version of democracy in India where any worthless family member can be sanctified by way of an election is making it easy for the growth of such evil forces.

Corruption

Corruption in India is not only in terms of bribes and money. The curse of corruption has spread into almost all aspects of our lives. There is corruption in values, relations, elections, governance, food, medicines and even in matters of defending the nation. If one needs a simple certificate from any office, one needs either the right contacts or pay the right amount and then wait for the officer to do his duty for which he is paid the salary from the tax payers’ pocket. Thus we are repeatedly punished for getting the officer to do his official ‘dharma’. One of the highly meaningful Sanskrit words (with no equivalent in English) that represent an entire school of ancient philosophy of successful human sustenance is Dharma. It was attributed so much importance in ancient Bharath that even our entire religious ideology came to be known as Sanatana Dharma. Indian nation is deteriorating because its citizens are moving away from Dharma.

It is unrealistic to suggest that ancient India was full of dharma and dharma alone. Even in puranas we had pantheons of Gods and Asuras in almost equal number at all times. These Asuras are nothing but people (equally powerful as Gods) who had a distinct liking for indulging in adharmic activities. And this was equally applicable across all sections (all castes) in the society – we had adharmic Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vysias and Sudras. Remember that the worst Asura ie. Ravan was a Brahmin. But we always had the presence and protection of Gods to ensure the prevalence of dharma and thereby protect the society and nation. It is this unbreakable protective shield of dharma that is missing now. Instead of self attained Gods, we have ‘elected’ Gods now. And virtually all of them have turned ‘asuric’ or become indifferent or willing Sikhandis when it comes to the welfare of our nation. There is hardly anyone in any of our elected bodies who can become a role model for those who want to enter Indian politics.

Conversion

Quite in line with the rapid growth of corruption, the cancer of religious conversion is also spreading throughout our nation. After its earlier aggressive phases during Mughal and colonial rules, the menace of religious conversion is peaking once again in the Southern and Eastern parts of the country. If the monies for conversion activities are coming from Europe and USA, the human resources are sourced mainly from the southern state of Kerala. There is a formidable section of ‘crossers’ in Kerala who have spent their generations in converting vulnerable sections of the country into Christianity. Their expertise in the field of religious conversion is being called upon once again to target mainly the other neighboring southern and eastern states. It is a very good industry with high returns and political conditions are also very much in their favour.

As part of their ‘intellectual’ efforts to justify this heinous action, several Indian descendents of Max Muller and Monier have been active in recent past to establish the historic authenticity of the myth of Saint Thomas’ visit to India. Though it has been out rightly rejected by Vatican, the Mullers and Moniers desperately want this historical fig leaf to hide their evil intentions. Another related attempt is to establish the existence of an ancient port called Muziris in the present city of Kodungalore in Kerala. It does need not much research in history or logic to establish that nobody by the name of Saint Thomas ever visited any part of India in the first century AD and the so-called Muziris port is the present port city of Sur in Oman. Ever since the advent of the new religions in the Arabian peninsula, violent persecution of one section or another was a regular affair and someone by the name of Thomas (Knaya Thoma) might have come over as a fugitive or refugee into the all-accepting lands of Bharath. If he was a welcome refugee then, his unworthy descendents have become disloyal to the land that protected their forefathers from persecution.

Subversion

As if the cancer of religious conversion is not enough, the ulcer of subversion is also troubling and targeting Bharat Mata now. Again it does not need much research to establish that the ulcer is due to an earlier unclean surgery. Islamic Republic of Pakistan will never allow the Indian Republic to be successful and they will do everything possible to keep us down. Following the spurt of wealth in Middle East from Oil and Gas discoveries, the economic well being of worldwide Muslims have improved and their dreams of an Arabian Imperialism as a revengeful antidote for the Crusades has become a reality now. Pakistan is a direct beneficiary of this new found wealth and vigour, and they will multiply their anti-India efforts many fold in the days to come. India can never avoid bomb blasts that are taking place at regular intervals until and unless it can raise the nationalist fervor of all its citizens once again to pre-1947 levels.

Though Gulf countries are willing to spend a substantial part of their easy-gotten money to bring the whole world under their foot, they do not have the human resources and intelligence to do it. Countries like Pakistan have become very important in such a situation. Gulf countries are knowingly providing an arena for close interaction between Indians and Pakistanis so that their agenda can be pushed very easily. It is the classic case of the wily fox setting the two lambs to fight and waiting for its turn to eat both of them. The only difference in this case is that one of the lambs is not purely a lamb, but the unwanted offspring of an earlier interaction between the grand father of the fox and an unfortunate sheep. The illegitimate lamb is more than willing to die for his uncle but wants the other pristine lamb also to die before that.

The state of Indian nation is deteriorating in all aspects at all levels barring a few. If corruption is eating into our bone marrows, the twin evils of conversion and subversion are pricking our national conscience many times daily. In spite of being one of the most liberal nations in the world (with almost complete freedom that one can imagine) and with a very lose judicial punishment system for even treason, if some sections can still legitimize their anti-national activities quoting lack of social justice and opportunities, it is time to think of tough measures to establish the rule of majority as it exists in all modern nations worldwide. It is time for us to realize that any country that is under minority rule or being dictated by the minorities is intrinsically unstable and unsustainable.

Revelation Logic

Revelations from an omnipotent and omnipresent (yet unknown) God form the very basic foundation of almost all the religions in this world. If we define religions as paths towards (realization of) God, we find it interesting to note that the paths are as uncertain and vague as the objective itself. The concept of an external God, the reward and punishment variety, is almost completely illogical and dead. We do not need anymore proof for an outright rejection than the ever increasing cases of violence, deaths, injustice and atrocities all around us. The simple fact that such atrocities are much more in the ‘centers of God’ highlights the utter failure of such a custodian of Heaven and Hell. He(?) has proved to be an utter failure and the question remains as to why we need such an external God if there is no net growth in goodness in this world. The only rational and logical thesis about God that remains is one about a God which is all pervasive and utterly indifferent until the individual realizes Him (Advaita).

However, we cannot reject revelations in the same logic as in the case of an external God. It is politically incorrect and hazardous to name the revelations, but most of the revelation material is gibberish. But there are parts which make good a reading if we approach them with an open mind. One should read each of them completely and never attempt any parallel reading or comparisons. By the way, the field of ‘comparative religions’ is an unwanted and unnecessary discipline, contributing only to the menace of extremism and consequent terrorism. Experts in comparative religious studies have done maximum damage to the peaceful co-existence of multi religions in many countries. Though revelation literature is mostly made up of incoherent text, occasionally we come across materials that may make sense to each of us depending upon our background. These are the areas where we should be looking for some useful stuff that might help us.

Man’s Limitations

Whatever advancements we have made so far, the basic limitations of man remains. Scientifically, Man is designed only for seeing and hearing within a specific range of frequencies. We are blissfully ignorant of so many things happening around us at all times. Past centuries of development have no doubt helped us in extending our indirect reach. With special gadgets and software, we can now reach across millions of kilometers and decipher the earlier unknown signals. Man-made satellites have gone and landed in other planets and through the Hubble telescope we have physically seen much more than our predecessors. Our frontiers of knowledge are ever expanding and a newly born child is much more evolved and adapted to modern environment than the ones earlier. Yet at one end of the complex system of discovery gadgets, we still find the Homo Sapiens whose innate capabilities are limited. Superman and Batman exist only in our imagination.

Very often the useful capability that comes to the help of a ‘limited’ Man is his mind and the power of imagination. Within our minds we can imagine anything, realistic or unrealistic, and human mind is the only tool we have that can claim to be truly unlimited. Depending upon the extent of knowledge we have acquired, our minds can conjure up any amount of possibilities and even impossibilities. Many of human inventions in the past have sprung from impossible imaginations that ultimately proved to be truthful on close scrutiny. And if we go by the recorded experiences of the highly evolved Gurus (especially from India), the power of the sub-conscious mind is even more astounding. Most of the Godly revelations have come to mankind through this route.  The all-pervasive God reaches out to Man through his mind.

God’s Limitlessness

When Man is of limited capabilities, God has to be of unlimited capabilities. There are several ways to prove it. One of the easiest ways to establish the limitlessness of God is by analyzing the revelations of God. It will not be an exaggeration at all, if such an attempt leads us to the conclusion that some men knew much more (or at least as much) in the past than now. The relevance of revelations comes in here. Revelations in all religions talk about many things which are not spiritual in nature and often much beyond the knowledge of contemporary humans. And when we analyse the revelations now by experts in the field, there are more rocks of truth in them than specks of untruth. References to sun, moon, stars and cosmos in the holybooks of all major religions are examples of this. How did we come to know of such facts thousands of years back when modern scientific discoveries and calculations are only a few centuries old? How is the whole cosmos described in full details in Bhagavatam of Hindu Sanatana Dharma (HSD) when space expeditions started only a few decades back? And how is the speed of light given so precisely in Puranas’?

There can be only one answer to these types of questions. Whatever is logically beyond man’s realm of knowledge in terms of chronology of human development came to our public domain from elsewhere. Revelations containing such details which have been proved true by modern science later on have to be taken seriously. Vedic literature in India contains treatises on almost fields of human knowledge and the extent of revelations contained in many of them is still much beyond the reach of modern science. The four Vedas (of HSD) are considered revelations of God by Hindus and we are yet to analyse fully the more than one hundred thousand mantras contained in them.  Indian Rishis who wrote them had only their minds as their tools when compared to the complexity of our modern rockets, electronic gadgetry and computer software put together. They could have got such advanced knowledge only on the initiative of God through the revelations.

A brief comparison of what knowledge we have gathered in the past one thousand years as against the gist of revelations contained in the various holy books is enough to arrive at the conclusion that the religious revelations cannot be ignored. But what is more important is the next logical step of opening up these holy texts for further studies, interpretations, scrutiny and rigorous analysis. It is here many of the religions have failed. For purely selfish and political reasons, many of the holybooks are kept out of bounds from those who want to study, analyse and criticize. Even the God who had revealed it to mankind would be resenting the suffocating grip maintained by a few on the holybooks. While open books will enlighten and empower the readers, closed books will only kill the natural urge of knowledge. And ultimately all closed books will degenerate and land up in the dustbins of history is a lesson that misses the moronic clergy.  

Overloaded Planet

It has been quite clear for sometime now, that Earth is an overloaded planet. The six billion human load is unbearable and making life more and more miserable for an increasing number of people every year, though there exists some organisations making a living out of this business of population growth. Sustainability is the hottest topic in every international forum now and it is quite surprising that all of us are missing the fact that our own planet has already reached unsustainable proportions. The utopian concept of Socialism can be thought of in two ways – bringing in ‘equality’ either by trying to make all people rich or by making everyone poor. By increasing the denominator, whatever be its justification, the chosen route seems to be the latter. At this rate one of our future children will definitely step on the destruction button for planet Earth.

India is one of the most overloaded geographical areas in the whole world and within it the state of Kerala presents the extreme limits of population density. Not a single rainy season passes off in Kerala without spurts of Dengue fever, Rat fever, Cholera, Jaundice etc., etc. What is the most important reason for this? Nothing but an unsustainable number of human beings per square kilometre. Kerala has one of the maximum density of population and the ‘safe’ inhabitation land area now available is carrying almost double the advisable number of people. The net result is pollution of all water bodies, lack of safe drinking water, lack of infrastructure to process the human waste etc., etc. Almost three fourths of all human problems relate to population explosion and yet there are no serious attempts to control it. The revered Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer has recently come out with a report recommending strong measures against population explosion and as usual all religious retarders have jumped in.

Discourage Overproduction

There is no doubt and no two opinions about the need for children to sustain humanity. Nobody has ever questioned that. And nobody questions the relevance of marriage and family in human lives. All the questions now center around the number of children each family must have. But invariably the religious retarders always succeed in confusing birth control measures with abortion and pro-life slogans and defeat any initiatives in population control. All they want is license for uninhibited reproduction like animals. All forms of excuses (including God) are drawn into the debate to camouflage and confuse any debate between restrictive reproduction for common good versus wanton reproduction with ulterior motives. Though God often finds a mention in their arguments, the real motives behind increasing ‘tribal’ strength is crystal clear to everyone.

It is always the organized religious groups that oppose any restrictions on population growth. The logic is obvious. The strength of any organization is directly proportional to its strength and all organizations want to be strong and powerful. And all organizations are self-centered and bothered only about their own God, their own office bearers and their own tribe in that order. The point they often miss is that the whole world is interconnected and each of us (including our man-made Gods) are dependent on each other. Any attempt to grow beyond the limits of sustainability will unleash destruction from within our own system. An overcrowded Earth is an unsustainable entity and no amount of organization or religion can remove the limits. Restriction in numbers is one of the basic requirements in any organic system and Earth is no exception.

Encourage Restriction

Restrictions are often positive when compared to complete ban imposed by religious doctrinaires. Like animals, every man is born free and what ultimately differentiates man from animal is due to the reasonable restrictions imposed on him or her by the society. Our culture is nothing but a sum total of the impact of these restrictions. But for these restrictions and regulations, man will go down the evolution chain again to the level of animals and birds. Present condition of humanity is even more precarious. We have in our midst a set of people who are monopolizing the custodianship of all morality and liaison with God. Acceptance of reasonable restrictions, as opposed to illogical do’s and dont’s imposed by such monopolizers, is the need of the hour. If they are not shown their place, perpetrators of such obscurantist ideologies will make our lives unbearable mentally also. While population explosion is putting our physical existence at risk, victory for religious obscurantism will make us animals again.

Imposing reasonable restrictions on the size of families should come natural to any society or government in twenty first century. It is common knowledge that Mother Earth cannot sustain a population of more than say 4 or 5 billion humans, which is just one living species among millions of others in this planet. We simply do not have the natural resources to sustain so many human beings and all natural disasters happening now are indeed man-made in a way. And restricting our numbers is the only way to ensure progress and development with social justice. This has been proven beyond doubt in almost all European countries and states like Kerala in India. The present high standard of living in colony-dependent European countries and self-sufficient Asian states is additional proof for this. The only mistake that happened is the case of some European countries is that they went into a negative growth in population.

Justice Krishna Iyer’s recommendation to Kerala government to impose restrictions, including penalties, on families with more than two children is a progressive step in the right direction. It is exactly what is needed in a progressive society with cent percent literacy, highest rate of family suicides and complete consumerism. Kerala is not producing anything sufficient enough for itself other than children which further increase its needs. Thus it is caught in a vicious circle and the only way to break it is to restrict its population growth. Other than the petty minded religious hierarchy, no one is expected to oppose it. But the famed Kerala elite must speak out and defeat all the religious obscurantism that is overtaking Kerala these days.

Gandhian Mantle

Anna Hazare’s fast has achieved some consideration from our political masters and the parliament. The parliamentarians have spoken and a resolution has been passed. But we can never be sure of a Lokpal law in place until and unless the bill is passed by the same parliament. Whether it would be the Jan Lokpal Bill or some other bill remains to be seen. Politicians, especially the Indian variety, cannot be trusted and they will have no qualms in breaking their promises. Barring a miniscule few, the entire Indian political fraternity is neck deep in corruption and a sudden turn around to show statesmanship is very doubtful. If everything goes well and the very first Lokpal is someone like T.N. Seshan, the future of the institution is great. Otherwise, it would be one more white elephant and Frankenstein monster, both rolled into one.

But much more important than the Lokpal bill, a majority of the right thinking patriotic Indians feel highly relieved on another point – that a true Gandhian has taken over the mantle of Mahatma Gandhi. The Gandhian mantle has been under threat for almost half a century. Many of the new generation children have began to consider Mahatma Gandhi as the grand father of some ex-PMs and would-be-PMs. Just like our national flag and national symbols, one single political party had almost succeeded in ‘hijacking’ the Gandhian legacy and the entire credit for our outstanding freedom struggle, when Anna Hazare came up from nowhere to claim it. Nothing could have been better for Bharat and its citizens. And its implications will be much more in the days to come than the mere passage of a Lokpal bill.

National Spirit

Anna Hazare has rekindled the national spirit of India once again. Bharat Mata and Vande Mataram have become acceptable slogans once again. All the ‘organised’ groups who refused to join the team stand completely exposed of their real loyalty and intentions. Two generations (atleast one) of Indians have forgotten the glorious elements of our national spirit that forced the British out of India. Indian is such a diverse land that only extra strong elements of national spirit can unite us for a common cause. Mahatma Gandhi could read this peculiar aspect of Indians much more than others and that is why he became the tallest Indian leader though a late entrant. He knew very well that only the most salient features of our common heritage can unite all Indians to fight the British. From time immemorial Indians have always revered their Motherland on equal par with their Mothers. Anna has shown that even in this 21st century, Bharat Mata can inspire the most techno-saavy Indian to the uneducated farmers in our hinterlands.

The Vande Madaram spirit that was in bountiful display at Ramlila grounds and all over the country has given us much more hope than the hope of a Lokpal. Anna Hazare has touched the soul of millions of Indians as some one who can be trusted. He has stirred the national conscience once again following the same path as Mahatma Gandhi. There can be several counts on which the strategy, decision and obstinacy of Mahatma Gandhi had cost India dear, but no one could question his sincerity and dedication to the cause of India and Indians. Anna Hazare has climbed on to the same saddle as the Mahatma. His continued presence in the national scene would definitely give sleepless nights to so many politicians who are looting our nation day-in and day-out.

Silent Revolution

Apart from all around corruption, there are so many other aspects of our national outlook that require corrections. Nothing short of a revolution (preferably silent) can help us achieve this. Pseudo-secularism, vote bank politics, income disparity, lack of food, clothing & shelter, religious & caste discriminations, reservations etc., are some of the areas that require immediate attention and corrections. India is already under the rule of Indians for the last 65 years and we cannot wait any further to make our administration objective, scientific and sensible. Land mafia is in full control and millions of Indians do not have even one cent of land in their name. All Indians must necessarily have minimum food, clothing, education, healthcare and shelter assured throughout their lifetime. If an inherently rich country like India cannot take minimum care of its citizens, what is our greatness in being called the world’s largest democracy, an emerging superpower and the future world leader?

Black money, population growth and terrorism are the three other areas that would require our utmost attention. Experts in the field have already suggested methods to tackle black money. It is very simple and can easily be tackled if there is political will. All that is required is a simple ordinance making it mandatory to declare all foreign accounts held by Indian citizens within a month’s time or be prepared to lose it. However the other two issues would require much more efforts on the part of our rulers to convince, coerce and discipline all citizens for common good and national cause. Our citizens must be Indians first and everything else next. Both population explosion and terrorist explosion are hurting our nation and holding it back.

The rekindled national spirit of Indian masses and the emergence of a true Gandhian leader can work wonders for India. Of course there will be ‘asuric’ forces in full force working against all that Anna stands for. But the spirit of India that has been let loose once again cannot be easily contained by a few evil political leaders. Team Anna must use all the resources and technology that is available in abundance in India to continue the offense against loot of India. All those foreign elements who are hell bent on bringing India down with the aid of some unpatriotic, sycophant and spineless crowd of politicians must be brought to book. That is the only way to take Bharat Mata to the place she deserves among the world nations.

Can Indian Politicians be NOT corrupt?

Team Anna is asking for the impossible when they demand that Indian politicians should not be corrupt. Forget it in practice, it is even impossible in theory.

Just take the case of an ordinary Indian politician:

Education – Graduate or maximum LLB
Age - 40 (average)
Family – Wife and atleast two children
Monthly Expenses – atleast Rs. 75,000/- (incl. phone bill of atleast Rs 25,000/-)
Monthly Income – NIL

How is this gentleman going to carry on in his life?

A few of them make a living on their wives’ income (if they are employed) or income from ancestral property. But it is not a sustainable proposition.

His only way out is to make maximum money whenever he gets into power. And that is what is happening in India today.

And when the political leadership is corrupt, the clever and educated Executive and Judiciary cannot be expected to keep quiet. They will also take their pound of flesh for facilitating the plunder.

Whatever is happening among Indian politicians is quite logical and even reasonable. Any change can happen only when there is paradigm shift in the nature of our politics.

Can we think of making politics a profession? Start an Indian Political Service, similar to Indian Administrative Service or Indian Foreign Service?

Or restrict the entry into politics only for those who have adequate monthly income from other means?

Or allow only those who have worked till the age of 50 to enter into politics?

S(t)inking Nations

A few drops of powerful venom are more than enough to turn a vast reservoir of drinking water that sustains life to become a life threatening hazard. And if the poison is long lasting it can be fatal for generations of people living nearby. The case of venomous people and nations is no different. People whose basic instincts are criminal in nature can bring about devastation to their friends, foes and even to the unknown. The effect is same even if it is good individuals brought up in a closed system of constricted knowledge about the non-existent God or under the wrong notion that money can justify anything and everything. People make up nations and the after effect of nations born out of hatred and narrow mentalities are also undesirable. The immediate effect is more on others who preach peace for everyone. Evil nations degenerate and disintegrate in the long run, but their short term contributions to humanity can be devastating.

In the vast array of 200 odd nations that make up today’s world, there are a couple of them that stand out in their threat for others. The contributions of these toxic nations to the development of humanity are minimal but the damages they do continue to be enormous. Pakistan and Switzerland are two such nations that continue to emit and promote negativity even in this 21st century. We claim progress in civilization and culture, but the continued presence of nations like Pakistan and Switzerland in our midst makes our claim doubtful. How can we tolerate nations whose official policy is not the welfare of its own people but making life miserable for its neighbors? How can we claim to be more developed than in previous centuries when millions are still in poverty and millions of dollars looted from them are locked up in a safe haven in our midst? These two nations are an open challenge to the civility and sensibility of modern Man.

Pakistan

The nation was born out of a misunderstanding between two religious communities. And having bid goodbye to each other, the approach should have been one of mutual respect or at least an indifferent neighborhood of each taking care of their own problems. But Pakistan has continued to maintain hatred for Indian nation for the sixty odd years of its existence and the situation is turning worse every day. There were many who thought that the mutual hatred which peaked in mid 1950s would vanish when new generations come on the scene. But Pakistan’s hatred for India has only compounded in the past two decades. As stated by the renowned Indian journalist M.J. Akbar, many Pakistanis may be good but the DNA of Pakistani nation can only breed contempt and hatred for India. The ruling elite in a poor country like Pakistan is spending billions to keep its citizens backward and unliberated.

The recent killing of Osama Binladen in Pakistani soil shows the extent of threat that this nation pose to the entire humanity. Another cunning nation China has armed Pakistan to unbelievable levels, based on their own grandiose design, and the real threat to a peaceful world by a nuclear armed Pakistan can be ignored only at our own peril. Almost all the hardcore terrorists in the entire world are living in a single territory. Like the heavy duty wild animals, even casual skirmishes among them can kill thousands of innocent people living in this unfortunate land. Theory and practical classes for terrorism aimed at killing innocent Indian citizens are going on unabated with the active participation of visiting ‘professors’ like Binladens, Dawoods and Zawahiris from various parts of the world. What is the final achievement of all this destruction is the question that remains unanswered for ever.

Switzerland

The contribution of Switzerland to humanity is also negative, but for a different set of reasons. In criminal jurisprudence those who abet criminals are equally culpable. By inviting, attracting and facilitating safe custody of ill-gotten wealth from all parts of the world and making money for themselves by the unique method of negative interest, the notorious Swiss banks are aiding and abetting crimes all over the world. One of the main pre-requisites for any crime or criminal is to have a way out, and Swiss banks are providing exactly that to those who are stealing money. The so-called safe havens for investing black money are indeed the real hells on earth. Black money in any form smells of illegitimacy and those who volunteer to keep it secure are committing one of the worst forms of criminal banking.

Bulk of the black money hoarded in Swiss banks belong to politicians from poor developing countries and that makes their crime even more abhorrent. In a democracy, politicians represent their followers and the black money they gather is on account of the breach of faith they commit. In poor countries like India, this represents the blood and sweat of toiling millions who struggle everyday without rest. By cheating them and siphoning their money to Swiss banks is like stealing from the begging bowl of a blind beggar. No law under the sun can justify such acts of these politicians and the Swiss banks which provide cover for their theft. In fact, the name of a beautiful country like Switzerland is getting unnecessarily tarnished by a few of their banks for short term benefits. Swiss citizens must realize such degenerative tendencies and rise upto their duties as citizens of this universe where a majority are still poor and downtrodden.

In the midst of all these unjust and unfair activities, the silence of a world body like United Nations is simply deplorable. How can a world body like the UN keep quiet when they know for sure the safe havens for terrorism and black money? Each day of their silence on these two vital matters will cost us years of loss in the future. Both the maladies are affecting ordinary innocent citizens and their faceless existence is providing the strength for arrogant anti-social elements to act. If the world body cannot provide face and strength for the overwhelming many against the atrocities committed by a few terrorists and black money hoarders, what is the very purpose such an organization? If the formidable few spread over the world can unite against these twin evils over the Facebook, we can bring about many Jasmine revolutions to reform Pakistans and Switzerlands.