Listen to the Message of the Himalayan Masters

The more I read about the tradition of the Himalayan Masters, the more enchanted I become. This lineage of great sages has been guiding life on earth of eons now. And we poor mortals have the gall to think we are the ones who are the smartest on earth!
Consider the few thousand years of known human history (most of which is anyway pretty cloudy and sketchy). We the 60-odd years of comparative peace following World War II is a great achievement. But when you compare our timelines with the planetary ones, those 60 years seem like a second, even a fraction of a second. And we think we have achieved something!
Already the tenuous peace that held is fraying. The world is headed inexorably to another period of war and suffering. So much for man's haughtiness.
Yet, for the discerning, a little bit of probing will suffice to know that behind all this drama is the hand of the great sages, doing their work silently.
The more I think of it, the more I am certain civilization as we know it is headed for doomsday. Even our exploitation of earth and its natural resources have reached the point where they are being taken faster than they can be renewed.
The only option for right thinking individuals who want to change this course of doom is to seek out the ways of the great sages and practise what they have taught. The teachings have been there always; only we need to practise it.
We talk of religious dialogues, tolerance, etc. And come to think of it, we don't even know why we are here. Are we running after something completely useless by following the way of life? I am more and more convinced that we are. And I am taking the message of the sages to heart seriously. Let me practise, and the rest is in THEIR hands!

Post-Mumbai, India has few choices

Am out of Bangalore, too! Or almost.
But more on that later.
I have been watching the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks with a sense of deja vu. Remember the Parliament attack? The same sense of inability to do anything really concrete still haunts the Indian political establishment. The only difference is that it is the Congress, and not the BJP, that is in power now at the Centre.
The choices, or lack of thereof, facing India in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai are worrisome. The fact is, despite all the hard talk, the government of the country can do precious little to force the Pakistani army and the rogue elements in its intelligence establishment to desist from supporting Islamic terrorists fighting India.
Indian leaders and military chiefs can talk about hot pursuit, but if India really tries that in Kashmir it would be risking a nuclear war in the sub-continent. The US can do that in the Pakistani tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but if India tries the same trick it is bound to invite a swift and strong military response from Pakistan.
The fact is, a nuclear-armed Pakistan has made it safer for the terror elements operating from that country to strike with impunity at India.
All the talk about cutting trade and cultural links with Pakistan is not going to solve the problem. Pakistan has survived Indian embargoes earlier, too. Besides, forcing Pakistan into an economic crisis will only strengthen the hands of the jihadists and no country in the world, let alone India, would want them to have access to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

What is the solution? Try the same tack that Pakistan has used with great success against India – foster insurgencies in that country taking advantage of the many ethnic fault lines that fan across its landscape.
The recent explosion of protests from Pakistan against a map that was doing the rounds in the United States, showing present-day Pakistan divided between India, Afghanistan and an independent Baluchistan shows how much Pakistan’s ruling elite fears such an outcome is possible.
India needs to reply in the same coin to what Pakistan has been orchestrating against this country. The question here is can the weak-kneed politicians with their eyes on vote banks conceptualise and execute such a strategy?
It doesn’t sound easy, but if ever there is a time for India to launch such an operation, it is now. And the community of nations, having seen the damage a rogue Pakistan can do, would be only too willing to help!

In Bangalore for a second Innings

From Amchi Mumbai to Bangalore!
Yes, six months in Bombay was enough. I got tired of the crowds, the squalor, the commute...
Wonder why people like that city so much. Maybe it's me, that I don't see what other people see.
Anyway, here in Bengaluru for my second innings.
And right away I can say I don't like the laid back life here, or the total lack of road sense in Bangalore's drivers.
But I guess the divine has some reason for bringing me here; will wait and watch for things to unfold.

Being A Non-Hindu Is Good For The Environment In India!

It may never be too late to mention the Sethursamudram Project, to link the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. Because the forces who want it, despite the end users and the environmentalists saying it would be a disaster, are still at work. From my recent talks with a colleague, I understand it is DMK chief Karunanidhi's personal ego that is making him push for the project. That is what today's democracy is for you. Even if it means wholesale death and destruction, a megalomaniac masquerading as a popular leader can do whatever he wants to!

The Sethusamudram Project will be an environmental disaster, will cost a bomb to maintain and will be of no real use as a shipping lane. Still we are spending crores on it on a daily basis. The fact that it would hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus hasn't been taken into account either. Just imagine, if it was the religious sentiment of the Muslims or Christians the project would not even have seen the light of the day. The same would have happened if it was a really good project, unlike this one is. That is secularism for you!

Just one question: is being a Muslim or a Christian good for the environment in India?!

VHP to Wash Away Sins in Holy Ganga

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is teaming up with godmen again. But wait, before you say what is new, these are not the bunch of rabble rousers and ultra-conservative set of ochre-clads who had dominated the VHP's ranks all these years. And this time it is for an environmental cause - clean up the Ganga. And these godmen are some of the most influential personalities in today's moderate Hindu society - Ravi Shankar, Baba Ramdev, Asaramji Bapu and Morari Bapu. They are not exactly pushing a religious agenda in today's Indian society either. (Read story in Mint)

The VHP's agenda is, of course, to reach out to moderate Hindus and thus remove the "untouchable" status it has acquired over the Babri Masjid demolition and riots. But the godmen say they are in the tie-up because it is for enviornmental causes that need immediate attention.

I wish the VHP's agenda fails and the godmen's agenda wins!The Ganga or Ganges needs urgent cleaning up - no doubt about that. The river has nurtured Indians for thousands of years, and now we repay that by polluting and destroying it. The government, and various political parties, with their votebank agenda, are squarely responsible for this state of affairs. If they had any concern about the well being of India, its culture and heritage, and its environment things would not have come to such a pass. What I am saying is if India had a Hindu religious government it could not have allowed the Ganga to be destroyed this way. But I am also saying you don't need any religious affiliations to keep the Ganga clean. Any government which has genuine concerns about its people and country would not have let this happen.

I am really happy this is happening. Of course, there will be people who will try to find an alliance between the VHP and these godmen worrisome for national harmony. And given the VHP's track record they shouldn't be blamed either. But I am sure these godmen, who have proven over the years that they are more humanitarians than religious fanatics would keep the VHP firmly on track and won't let them hijack the movement for narrow political gains. If they manage to do that, the whole nation will be thankful to them and they will get the blessings of Mother Ganges. And the blessings of Mother Ganges could go a long way in washing away the VHP's sins, too.

Cracking the cheap energy puzzle, finally!

Is this the future? Yes, MIT professor Daniel G. Nocera has found a way to replicate the photosynthesis reaction used by plants to make oxygen and hydrogen, to work in the real world - cheaply.
http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/07/30/nocera-solar-power-biz-energy-cz_jf_0731solar.html. Here is the article in Science journal
The experiments are still in their early stage, but Nocera's team has cracked the toughest part of it - the oxygen and hydrogen generation. This should be a landmark in mankind's quest for alternative energy. And if it really takes off, then we are in for an era of cheap and clean energy. Unbelievable but true!
Still the question remains. This won't be the end to all our environmental problems. With no more need to worry about greenhouse gases humans are going to increase their plundering of earth's riches and the pollution of its bounty to life. I am talking about the many chemicals and other stuff we create, use and release into the ecosystem in a day. Well, Nocera has helped us take a giant leap forward. Now each of use need to evaluate what we really need, and separate the need from the greed for building a really sustainable civilisation.

When we dumped those wood-fired stoves ...

The energy crisis made me think of how we used to live in our village - the women used firewood collected from the trees, especially the dried leaves and other matter from coconut trees, to cook food. As I grew up and the country progressed economically, the ease of getting a cooking gas connection increased and at the same time such a connection became affordable to more people. And then, people stopped using firewood - entirely. The results were immediately visible. The dried leaves and stubs from the coconut palms, and even the dried husks, suddenly had no takers. Earlier, people used to run to grab the dried coconut palm leaf or other parts that fell on the ground. Now those were left to rot on the ground. The immediate effect was the coconut groves became untidy and as soon as rain fell the decaying biomatter led to an increase in the number of millipedes and other such insects. More importantly, useful biofuels were being left to rot while the people were paying money to pay for LPG.
Of course, buring those firewoods is never a clean solution but they could easily have been turned into biogas. In fact, some people in my village were considering setting up biofuel plants when the whole thing was made irrelevant by the easy availability of cheap cooking gas.
And now, we have a problem - there is suddenly not enough of that gas and its price is climbing!
Who will we blame here? I don't know.
Maybe we should never have gone to exploiting natural gas reserves, considering the long-term and as yet unknown dangers that could create to life on earth. Does sucking out all that oil and gas make the earth prone more to earthquakes? I have heard such arguments and scientists dismiss them as baseless. But can we really say that? As more and more oil and gas is sucked out, wouldn't it create imbalances in the earth's crust? Isn't that simple logic?
And buring fossil fuels and petroleum products are adding so much of toxic substances to the air and water around, I am not sure what kind of consequences they would bring to life on earth in, say, 50 years. In fact, no one is sure.
Makes me think the simple village life that we had a couple of hundred years back was preferable to the toxic environment we have now, despite all the comforts of the modern life!

Carbon: From Life Giver To Villain

Today I was reading about how plastic bottles are good for the environment. Sounds counterintuitive? But this is about wine bottles, and the story says transporting wine in glass bottles emits more carbon and, hence, plastic bottles are a better proposition. Well, the talk now everywhere is about reducing your carbon footprint. Imagine, suddenly an element that is the building block of life on earth and a gas that has helped keep the earth's atmosphere warm enough for life on earth to flourish are being looked upon as life's worst enemies! The irony here is that however much we hate carbon and carbon dioxide, they are really needed for life to survive on this planet. The current cause of this crisis is human activity, nay, greed. And unless we learn to cut back on competitive consumption and greed I see no end to this crisis.
You can introduce more energy efficient technologies, better alternative fuels, and a lot more, but they will all serve only up to a certain extent. Human greed will soon find even the slack afforded by such technologies and fuels aren't enough - we will soon be back on square one as far as global warming is concerned.
In this context I remember what Mahatma Gandhi had said about how earth has enough resources to fulfil the needs of everyone but not enough to fulfil the greed of everyone - or words to that effect. So that is it: if we don't cut back on our greed, all our policies and emission limits will soon come to naught.
And putting limits on our greed is not something that is easy to implement. I cannot foresee our governments and leaders calling to the people on earth to limit their luxuries and greedy lifestyles. How will they, when their very survival as power wielders depend on fostering such greedy ambitions of the masses?
It will all boil down to changing our leaders, and for that we need to change our own outlook on life. So the ball is back in our court; each individual will have to take responsibility for global warming. That is a tough ask. But once it happens, I guess most of our problems will be solved as well - including that of global warming!

From gracious guests to looters and killers

I recently read somewhere in ancient India, whenever you took something from earth you said a prayer to Mother Earth that whatever you take grows back and enriches the biosphere. Just compare that with what is happening now. Human civilization has become a group of exploiters, digging ever deeper into earth to keep their greedy lifestyle going - from iron and oil to natural gas and even heat! Someone who is accustomed to the many economic theories and geological sciences will ask, what is wrong with that? The only trouble, they would argue, is that we may run out of many resources such as iron and oil, but we can either dig deeper or even spread our search to the neighbouring planets in the solar system.
The only problem with that argument is that we don't recognize earth and even the whole Universe as a living entity, which feels and reacts to changes around them. Such a shift in our viewpoint would mean a lot: for example, if we think of Earth as a living being much like us, it would follow that we are just robber barons trying to loot whatever she has. But if you advance the logic further, we could say we are staying on Mother Earth and enjoying whatever she offers us. In that case, we need to be gracious guests and not parasites. Because if we observe Nature, we can see that in most cases it is only a matter of time before an host organism gets tired of creatures in a mutualism, or symbiotic relationship, that turn parasites and kick them out.
We have turned parasites from guests, and we are plundering our host. But we forget that our host is immensely more powerful than all of us combined. If she just shakes her coat a bit violently, all of us will be no more! We are plundering on merrily as if there is no tomorrow. And we have created so-called sciences to backstop our greed. How long can this continue?
Every day, when I see the destruction around me cause in the name of development, I wonder where all this is going to end. I pray to the Himalayan masters, Divine Mother and Mother Earth to protect us from any calamities that are coming our way, and to show us the right path forward.

Needed - A New Paradigm Of Development

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced human civilisation cannot continue on our present path of development for too long. The paradigm of development we have, which encourages and is sustained by limitless and conspicous consumption of everything - including the animals that co-exist with us on this planet - is inherently flawed. We are leaving too much toxic debris around for us to continue far this way.We may invest in cleaner fuels, we may shun plastics... but all that is not going to do much other than postpone the inevitable for a few more years or, maybe, decades.
There needs to a new paradigm of development, and there needs to be strong political will to enforce it. Enforce it because there is no way a people bred on a culture of greed and self-aggrandisement can be made to wilfully adapt such a new paradigm for the common good.
There are several obstacles to achieving this. First, the new paradigm need to be drawn up by someone with enough foresight and perspicacity. Second, the political will cannot come from our current political system, with the leaders who rely on appeasement of the masses and who have mutualistic relations with businesses, which would be highly interested in continuing with the current paradigm.
If we can overcome these obstacles, then we can say with confidence that human civilisation will survive the crisis it is creating for itself. But it is a tall order, and if we fail, we are eternally doomed.

How A Neuroscientist Discovered Yogic Bliss

This is a wonderful story of a neuroscientist who had a brain haemorrhage and stroke. She recovered fully, but found out some interesting things about her brain. Basically, what she experienced (though that is not the case for all such patients) is akin to one of the higher states of bliss induced by Yoga. Very interesting read. Her book on her experiences, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, is availabe in Amazon now.

Slowly, as our solar system travels closer to the magnetic centre of the galaxy, I think science is understanding some of the science behind the teachings of the ancient masters. And it is high time (though Time is only a concept within our minds) because of all the suffering we are going through, and all the suffering we are inflicting on the ecosystem through our ignorance.

God Works, Through Radical Muslim Youth, This Time!

The hunt for fake godmen that has intensified over the last few weeks in Kerala is something that should be sustained. I had read a few years back about some great sage, forgot who it was, saying the fake godmen are the scum of Indian society and when the society starts to become dynamic, they will be washed away. I think it was Vivekananda.
And now that time seems to have come. These self-proclaimed godmen thrive by instilling a sense of fear and dependence on people who flock to them; those are the very opposite of the qualities you need to discover and realize yourself, according to the Himalayan masters. I personally know of a fake godman in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, who claims to be Hanuman.
He was a perfectly ordinary guy, with a little bit of intuition, before his marriage. Then the mutation happened - he decided that he was Hanuman, and he got mad at me when I questioned it. He still runs a thriving business in Thiruvananthapuram, complete with personally selling women's underwears in a textile shop supposedly run by his brother-in-law.
The campaign against these godmen are spearheaded by Solidarity, a movement of radical Muslim youth. But in this case I think they are doing a wonderful service to society. These godmen are a curse on society - whichever religion they are from - and need to be rooted out. For once, I think, the agenda of these young Muslim activists is in perfect harmony with a national need.
And, after all, God is in them as well as every one else!

The Challenge We Face

A recent report says the huge amounts of carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere due to human activity is making the ocean waters acidic. While that was known for some time, what is causing concern is that those waters, hitherto restricted to the depths of the big oceans, are now finding their way to the coastal shelves. And these acidic waters are thinning the shells of corals and other animals.
We have gone on polluting our air, water and other resources regardless of the fact that pollution is never confined to the area of pollution. We live in a connected eco-system and the pollutants and other toxins we add to one part of the earth will, sooner or later, find its way around the globe.
If we look at the pollution in some of our industrial cities and compare that with the serene air of the Himalayas or the Amazon, we may think only those living in highly polluted areas need to worry about the problem. Not so. Those pollutants are going to find their way to you, and affect to coming generations all over the earth.
We have been so short-sighted about this problem; and polluting and greedy businesses have glossed over it. But I read in a book about Swami Rama that the Himalayan sages were aware of it even at the beginning of the last century!
We had gone on polluting merrily and now we really do have a problem on our hands: we can continue to do what we do and condemn ourselves, the coming generations, and the whole ecosystem itself; or we can stop this madness and try to mend our ways.
But the second option would mean we change the way we live, and put an end to this conspicuous consumption we had taken for granted in the last 100 years. Are we up to the challenge?

Time To Bring Back The Philosopher Kings

The news of businessmen and film stars grabbing forest land in the Western Ghats comes as no surprise to me, considering the kind of rulers we have. The problem is we like to read and revel in such news, but scarcely do anything about it other than blame the government. But we are the ones who elect our own rulers, and when it comes the time to select our representatives we forget our duty -- we prefer to go by our religious, caste, regional and other parochial preferences than about the suitableness of the candidate. And then we blame the government. What a sorry state of affairs. We are digging our own grave and we blame others when they are just trying to finish off the job we started, and bury us!

I personally feel India is not ripe for democracy. And thinking about it, why do we need this western adjunct to our political life. I am not saying we go back to our monarchies. God forbid! But we could try to bring back the philosopher kings who ruled in Indian's golden age, the ones who were guided by the great sages - the Rajgurus. But for that we need a fundamental change in the way we mould our new generations. Because such kings will arise and can thrive only in an enlightened society. And we can start doing that only by establishing educational and other institutions that go by the teachings of the Himalayan masters. Again, I am making a case for institution(s) for Vedic culture and knowledge. Any takers?

The Positive Side of $130 Oil

Oil hitting $130 a barrel may be worrying for the economy but I think there is a silver lining there. This would surely spur the big corporations and governments to act faster on alternative energy sources - and with the current expanding consciousness about the environment, we can confidently hope those alternative energy sources will also be greener. That last 100-150 years of development - powered mostly by fossil fuels - has already burdened nature with toxins that may take hundreds of years to clean up. We need to make a start somewhere to reduce and roll back the amount of those toxins. At the very worst, this kind of galloping oil prices can push the world's economy into a recession, and cut down on the huge amount of pollution we create daily.

At the same time, I have read reports of US politicians threatening to punish China and India over over-use of dirty fuels. I agree that what India and China are doing is a bad thing, but that is because these Asian nations are now following the crassly materialist path of development shown by the West. And man for man, people in these countries pollute less and consume less -- at least four fith less than the average American. So who should be punished?!

A New Educational System For India

Violence of various hues and forms are sweeping the world, apart from the floods and quakes that have claimed lives by the thousands in Myanmar and China. Today's papers carried news of India's home minister saying immigrants from Bangladesh would not be confined to camps, even as Muslim terrorists from that country are under the scanner for the recent blasts in Jaipur. The fact, is you can argue for both sides in this issue. Yes, Bangladeshi migrants in India are human beings too and we cannot just put them into concentration camps - that militates against humaneness. Again, we cannot let terrorists among them roam free and target Indian citizens with bombs at will. The only way to solve this is to incorporate the migrants into the intelligence gathering process. Recent reports say they are a very closed group, refusing to divulge any sort of information to intelligence agents.
If that is so, there is a clear case for them to be collectively held responsible. But I doubt if that version of affairs is actually true; there could be many well meaning Bangladeshi immigrants who want a secure future for themselves in India, as some news reports quoting some of them made it clear.
So why is this happening? The answer is politics, and corruption. These two are eating into the very fabric of Indian society and culture and, if let alone to continue, can bring about balkanisation of the whole nation.
It is sad that Indian democracy, which could have brought about justice, equality and prosperity to everyone in the country, is being held to ransom by thugs and robbers posing as politicians. But I think this was inevitable. Every institution will reflect the development and perspicacity of the individuals who are in it; and our political rulers have failed to put in place an educational system that instils values and helps the new generations aware of and practise the the messages of the Himalayan masters. Without such practical moral and spiritual teachings, it was inevitable that our society and politics deteriorated into the current state of travesty and moral turpitude. Yes, India needs to revamp its educational system - not just to create more quality engineers and doctors, but better men and women who understand and practise the teachings of the sages.
I think sooner or later I have to do my part in that effort.

A School of Vedic Culture and Religion

Sorry, I have been away for some time. But I will be updating this blog more frequently now. Last few days I have been reading up on Sri Vidya and tantra, especially the book 'At the Eleventh Hour: The Biography of Swami Rama' made a deep impression on me. The more I read it (I have read Swami Rama's 'Living With The Himalayan Masters' earlier), the more I feel humanity is hurtling down the path of destruction, and India, which had traditionally acted as a counterveiling force to the materialistic tendencies in the world has now switched sides, adding to the momentum of the destructive forces. The answer seems to lie in resurrecting the Vedic culture, not the Vedic culture that have come to us through the filter of Hindu priests, but in the original, unadulterated teachings of the Himalayan sages.
Those teachings are eternal - Sanatana - and hold valid for today's world as much as they did when they were first taught. It seems the competitive consumption we are indulging in, without regard to the impact on nature, is taking us to certain doom - unless we decide to apply the brakes now. But for that, the world intelligentsia and opinion leaders need to back a new way of living centred not on conspicuous consumption, but on sensitivity and respect to nature. If they don't, a new breed of more perspicacious opinion leaders and intelligentsia need to be created. That is where we need a School of Vedic Culture and Religion. The faster that is set up, the better.

Green collar jobs are OK, but will it be enough?

New York Times has been talking about Green Collar Jobs. I am sure as the need to go 'green' becomes more and more pressing newer green jobs will open up. But there is one question which I have been pondering over. Will all the carbon emissions saved be enough as long as we have fuel guzzling cars and a fuel guzzling lifestyle?
Even if you generate all the power needed for your home from the Sun, you are also doing a lot of things which will add up to the emissions. Plus, the industrialisation and construction activity that is going on is going to add more carbon to the atmosphere than what all the people on earth would save from going for alternative energy.
The only option before humanity is, weird as it may seem, go for radical lifestyle changes. And I believe if we don't do it fast, Nature will take it upon itself to do it in a far more violent manner.

Reducing our carbon footprints

Reducing our carbon footprint: It seems the world is slowly coming to the agreement that that is what we need to do if we need to ensure that the earth is habitable for living being after 60-100 years. Right now the ideas about reducing carbon emissions are still being bandied about, without much effective action being taken.
I think we as individuals can do a lot to reduce our carbon footprints. For those interested in this subject the Internet throws of plenty of action plans, such as reducing their food miles, using public transport more often, etc. I think even by simply changing the way we eat can contribute a lot to reducing our carbon footprints.
Over the centuries we have become habituated to eating over-cooked food that is zapped of its vitality and nutrients. At the same time, ancient Yoga treatises say we need to eat more raw food, such a fruits and vegetables. Imagine that: if the whole population of this crowded planet decides to switch to raw fruits and vegetables from today, I think we could solve a lot of our global warming problems, plus a lot of our health and living ones, too.
But that is easier said than done. For those who would like to try this path, one word of caution: don't just start on raw food from tomorrow. You need to make the switch slowly, starting from semi-boiled vegetables and fruits to a completely raw and fresh diet.
It sounds a daunting task, and maybe even a 'tasteless' one; still it is worth trying.
More so because I believe it can guarantee all of us a better life, and a more 'liveable' planet!

For once, let us respect the humble farmer

So, as a civilisation, we are going back to where we started from. Our current way of life simply cannot be sustained in the long run, and we will need to go back to how we lived. It may sound terrifying to some who are accustomed to the conveniences of our modern urban civilisation. But it needn't be. We may not have to go back to the way our ancestors lived probably 500 years ago; but we will have to learn to live in a more sustainable, closer-to-nature way.

And I realise, as we try to get closer to nature, the thankless task our ancestors did for a living - farming - would be much in demand. And for once, the humble farmer would be recognized and rewarded. Yes, rewarded. And in more ways than one.

I am talking about carbon trading. I am trying to find out right now if there is any mechanism already in existence by which individual farmers can be get money for their contribution to reducing carbon emissions. If any of you reading this blog know of any, please do write in. As of now, I haven't found any.

Holi in Mumbai - The city shows its culture

Well, it was my first Holi after shifting to Mumbai and I must say it was really a surprise for me. Because the Holi celebrations I witnessed here was a LOT less nasty than the ones I had been through in Delhi. Of course, there were incidents reported of extremes but those were more of isolated incidents.
I saw people in formal attires walking past unconcerned while groups of youngsters played Holi. If it was Delhi, those guys would have been promptly caught hold of and dunked in drain water mixed with colours! Hats off to Mumbai's culture.
Come to think of it, Delhi has no culture. The different invasions that destroyed it time and again, including the quelling of the 1857 mutiny by the British, have left the city with no continuous lines of people to carry forward its culture. If you read William Dalrymple's book The Last Mughal, you will understand what I mean. Much of that mutiny was carried forward by the cooks, dhobis and the sweepers. The culture czars of Delhi had almost no part in the happenings, and finally the Brits killed off those who were left.
Delhi still remains a city without a culture of its own; the only culture it knows is the culture of the sweeper, washerman and the cook. They 'salaam' before you and once your back is turned hurl abuses on you. And scruples is something they haven't heard of. Mix it with the kind of unprincipled politics this country has, especially with all those netas being in Delhi, you would know what to expect of from Delhi and Delhiites!

Back to the future!

Today I read an article in Fortune magazine about how stock markets might never be the same, after the recent crash. Many of those rules that a few generations of human beings went by when it came to stock market investing may now have to change. Well, I think we need to change almost all the rules by which we, as a civilisation, live including the rules that define success and the whole orientation of our progress.
That is because we cannot keep on adding stress to our ecosystem the way we have been doing for the last few decades. The choice before us is stark: reform or perish.
It seems to me the ancient system of life that the sages of India, and other lands, preached and by which our scriptures say our ancestors lived will need to be reviewed. But that is easier said than done. For hundreds of years we have got accustomed to a life powered by animals or machines, and have allowed our faculties to atrophy.
An ancient way of life doesn't mean going back to the bullock cart age. Rather, I would characterise it as living in perfect harmony with nature and creation, while using our currently untapped latent powers to make life easier for us, instead of using the hazardous route of machines and fossil fuels to do it.
More on this later. Stay tuned!

The day food is sold...

The pace of urbanisation all around the world is picking up fast as every nation worth its salt is trying to emulate America in consumption and life style. But no one seems to care about the ravages this is causing to our ecology. A recent report I read somewhere said our drinking water sources are getting contaminated by, among other things, antibiotics and other drugs, affecting animals and, possibly, humans.
The problem is worse than anyone can imagine. And however hard we try to brush it under the carpet, it is going to come back with more force. Imagine this, our kids will not be able to drink safe drinking water. Fresh, natural water will be a misnomer. Where will this lead us? Extinction? I don't know, but if not that, then we will have to live as a condemned species, what with all the toxins we are adding to our ecosystem.
Isn't it time we took our single-pointed focus off conspicuous consumption and our misplaced benchmarks of fine living and try to reorient ourselves to a more holistic, harmless and inclusive lifestyle?
Someone who I highly respect once told me: It is written by Sage Vyasa that the day when food is sold that will be the worst day for humans and creation. Now, we can easily dismiss him and his ilk as old-fashioned, religious fellows. But, come to think of it, isn't it true? Can't we trace all our problems to our greed for money, so much so that we are even selling food and allowing commercial interests to lock up food and water resources in their quest for profit? Aren't those the things we should make available to all creation for free?

Lofty Ideals, But Will It Really Help?

The more I think of it, the more I am convinced that the objective of life is not money; it is to help people - spiritually, mentally and physically. Well, it is a lofty motive, and one that has been conveniently misused by many to hide their profit-taking activities. Look at the world's richest men. All of them are falling over each other to finance charities. Of course, they are doing service to humanity and the planet. But look at it this way: they have ravaged the environment and the lives of many poor people in trying to amass those fortunes that they now propose to spend on the well being of those very people and environment.

The ravaries we are inflicting on this planet in our quest to amass those riches, simply put, cannot be healed by ploughing back a part of that money into welfare schemes. The motives may be good but they effort being put in won't save this planet. Unless we decide to take a look at this whole question of conspicuous consumption and material satisfaction.

I know it all sounds too abstract. But this is something we need to look at very carefully, and soon.

Chidambaram has done a good thing!

So I am finally back to the budget grind, after two years. The markets are down and some analysts are cribbing about the loan waivers to farmers. What the hell, it is they who suffer and add value; and all the others just profit from their sweat and blood. It is a good thing Chidambaram has done, whether it was political compulsions or not.
In a way the plight of farmers is symptomatic of where we are heading, as a civilisation. The real earners and producers get scant regard or profit for their labours; the manipulators and profiteers are held in high regard and rewarded. As the seers fo yore said, the Mother Earth is now valued only for her minerals and metals. There is no regard for the life forces and the the Cosmic intelligence.
I am wondering how long can man go on pillaging and ravaging the planet. Again, I shudder to think of the consequences this avarice will bring to all creation on Earth.

Swept aside by the forces of greed and selfishness...

The train I take to work every day travels over the Vashi creek. The area surrounding the creek was once a marshy mangrove, but is now a bustling urban centre. A lot of people are moving into Navi Mumbai, just across the Vashi creek; and the marshland is being filled in ever more rapidly. The ecological implications of these changes are enormous, even to the untrained eye. But strangely, no one seems to be giving it much thought. I even read a news report after I came to Mumbai of the state environment minister saying the remaining mangroves should be cut down to make way for highrises!
My friends, who have been in this city far longer than I have been, tell me that only a few years back there was not one human being in the area. Pioneers here say stories of how hard daily life was in the early days of development, with taxis and even groceries hard to come by.
This transformation has set me thinking: who lived here once and were there wild animals in those ghats overlooking the coast? I still have no answers. But I guess there could have been people here; those that scrapped a living out of the meagre resources that nature offered, much like rural life in India in the early 1960s.
All those people could have been swept off by the fast-paced development. Many of those people would have become dependant on the new economy, after seeing their lands and the countryside which provided them sustenance, being snatched away from them.
It is a sad story, and our rulers are ensuring that it get repeated across the country, day after day. Naxalites and other radical elements may try to profit from this displacement and disempowerment but I don't think they can make any lasting transformation in the way things are going now. The forces of the market, fuelled by greed and selfishness, are too strong to be stopped on their tracks, let alone rolled back, by such radical movements.
So what next? I guess we are heading for a huge ecological disaster. I shudder to think of its dimensions and implications.

At what cost this expansion?

As much as I wanted to post regularly to this blog, my time pressures haven't allowed me to. But I will make up for that soon. As for my experience of Mumbai, yes, I like it; but I also am amazed at the scant regard for life - human and otherwise - that this city has. In the first two weeks since I landed here, I have seen more dead bodies than I have in my entire life. And life goes on ...
Well, the city is booming, thanks to the economy. And the people are good, far nicer than the arrogant and vily crowd you will meet in Delhi. But the cost to the environment due to this expansion can't be ignored. Vast creeks and marshlands are being filled up, mangroves are being levelled, and urban sprawls are springing up everywhere. How long can this go on?
I meet people around me who love this life - they just are too happy with the conveniences and gadgets that this urban life and superstores bring. But I wonder how long this expansion can go on without PERMANENTLY damaging the planet.
Of course, I may sound quirky to voice this idea but I can't avoid doing that. There will be price to pay for this wanton destruction and I really worry about that day of comeuppance.

Finally, In Mumbai - And A New Beginning!

So now I am in Mumbai, the great business hub of India, thanks to my former editor and mentor who is now the top man in a leading business newspaper here. Well, first impressions are the best, they say. And I should say I liked Mumbai far, far better than dry and lifeless Delhi with its extreme climate and rude people. I now regret not having taken up a job in Mumbai several years back, turned off by the crowds I confronted here on my first day - a huge jolt for my small-town sense about crowds!
Okay, the place I stay in is in Navi Mumbai, and while I like the place I am also appalled by the environmental degradation that human development is causing all around. Which is why I think I will devote this blog to that cause and also to examine similar such existential issues from a cosmic standpoint - at least from a standpoint more removed from the rush of happenings taking place around me.