gadfly

The assembly elections in poll-bound states soon after the general elections 2014 have witnessed so far a worrisome and troublesome phenomena. The Indian political discourse by and large revolved around certain values such as 'unity in diversity,' 'brotherhood' and 'secularism'. Unfortunately the values for which our political leadership stood so far have vanished all of a sudden. Day by day there are new threats to values and people who stand for. I base my observations on facts available to anyone who is intellectually open. I was pleasantly surprised when the Union Government of India called 1994 massacre of Sikhs in the capital a genocide. It was indeed a welcome move. I am sure if this massacre is to probed without political motives, it is certainly alleviate the pain of those who await justice. However, I can only call this dubious stance of a political party which leaves no stone unturned to capture power in the capital. If you are so concerned ab...

Watch out my country men may keep you endlessly laughing though they may not look like one, rather their positions don’t suggest one. But they are seriously joking! 68 years after Independence my country has not assured basic amenities of life to millions. 68 years after Independence we have not yet woken to the realities of life – to the hunger of millions, desperation of the oppressed, to the cry of infants and to the anger of the unemployed. It seemed to me that all our problems are due to the selfishness and sluggishness of the rulers. But I was pleasantly surprised that these (the problems of the country) would vanish all of a sudden if my countrymen follow one particular religion and every woman bears four children, nay, ten children. My God what a sight will that be to see every home having ten children! While foreigners would come and ‘Make in India’ Indians would be making homes – don’t misunderstand me, think about it very seriously. While Chinese intrude the border...

Prime Minister Modi's recent initiative 'Clean India' or Swachh Bharat found takers even among his rivals and critics. While we join our national leaders in emphasizing the need to create 'Swachh Bharat,' I think there is also a pressing need to kick start a Clean Mind drive. What do we mean by clean mind drive? As garbage thrown out poses a great challenge to us, the unwanted things taken in pose a challenge - the individual concerned and to the society at large - worth considering. In the wake of fanaticism, violence, individualism it is worth a discussion.  Even as one travels one can notice bill boards, magazines which have little or nothing to do with enhancing the lives of people. Often times one comes across more slander and gossip than anything of value. This is what we call it as 'the garbage of the mind.' More and more this is getting accumulated in the mind than anything of value. Who are the takers of these? Mostly the young people. It harm...

I thought of penning down a few reflections even as I sat tired and upset. Of many things that passed through the mind something struck me very honestly. I suppose this is something very common in our lives. Whether we like it or not many a time we either are scapegoat or make others to be. We are upset when we are made to be scapegoats by someone and hardly do we realize when we make someone to be. I wish to share about someone whom I make a scapegoat to be whenever I am slighted and insulted. This  person is Jesus Christ Himself. Whenever I meet with difficulties, my goings become tough I feel easy to severe my relationship with one person and that person is Jesus. The intellect tells me that I should turn to Him in my moments of difficulty rather than severing my ties with Him by blaming Him for all the pain - for which most often directly or indirectly I am the cause. In actuality I do what is done to me.  There is something special about this person whom I make a scap...

It has been long since I ever attempted to blog anything. Among the few things I wish to share 'patience' tops the list. I wonder 'whatever happened to patience?' It's still fresh in mind that my late grandfather advising us kids to be patient in deciding anything, to listen to people and to slow to answer back or answer. Sometimes I wonder whether what my grandfather advised holds water today. May be not ? I don't think so still. He might not have been learned like any of his grandsons at home but he had wisdom which comes from experience. I remember somebody telling me once 'hurry leads to worry.' And on a particular occasion someone reminded me of the proverb "Marry in haste; repent at leisure." I believe most of our troubles are due to thoughtlessness or impatience. The world and more especially the young are impatient to the maximum. The world is always in search of some 'quick fix'. We know anything that has not been thought abo...

Evil is defined as the absence of good, a non-entity, etc. For instance, a person who has only one hand suffers a physical evil. While physical evil is something that everybody understands, or within the range of our understanding, let alone the causes for it. It is the moral evil that is trickier. I suppose we are led to believe there is no such a thing as evil through our studies than positively affirming its presence. Everybody agrees to some extent that there is evil in the world; but not all of us will be willing to say it is an entity.  I remember my friend and I used to discuss about such issues for sometime in the last academic year. A few boys also used to scare the others with their stories. As I was reading through Scott Peck's The People of the Lie , I got an idea of what evil is.  Though it is worth discussing the ideas present therein, I wish to state one thought that runs through the entire book. The biggest strength of evil is its deception, unwillingness...

Simon of Cyrene has a particular attraction for me whenever I read Matthew 27: 32. We all know the cruel journey that our Blessed Lord undertook to Calvery to redeem us with a burden of the cross. Simon of Cyrene, a youth who returns from the countryside is forced to carry our Lord's burden for a while. I think that the disciples of Christ can learn an important lesson from this person. Simon wasn't the one who began the mission of redemption but our Blessed Lord. He only intervened rather called to carry forward the mission for a while. The mission itself was completed by our Lord. Likewise we aren't the ones who began the mission of salvation but the interveners or helpers called by our Lord to carry forward the mission for a while, that may be during our life on earth. Hence, it is our privilege to carry on the work of redemption for the few years we are put here on earth.