Me on the "mystic path"

I have reached the "middle"age - into my 40s. When i started my blog and stopped (and then started again and then stopped again) - i was in my 30s. A lot has changed in these few years - the ratio of black:grey hair has reversed in the years that went by. I have had some fruitful associations and some painful separations..... had additions to the list of people who i look forward to (my kids!) and who i look backward! Things have changed! And so has time!

Once into my 40s i am not sure whether its very natural or whether its my apetite - but i seem to have picked up the mystic path... a path of discovery...self discovery...discovery of the chosen ONE.. i am sure this is not renunciation - but its more about knowing what i must do and what i need to do! I get attracted to Sufism, bhakti vedanta, Ramana Maharshi teachings, Sai's life and teachings, etc etc etc....

As a start point here is the first link that i have found very interesting....

http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/elibrary.html

Meera Sanyal - Impressive steps in the right direction?

I am here again - I just read an article at the following site http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4311925.cms

I was a witness to some incidents like these - in the past. I had seen people like Jayprakash Narayana (a IAS officer - who quit Govenrment job to take politics - head on - and make a difference to the political environ of the country) and many more aspiring people who genuinely feel a need to make a difference. In the list of aspiring people joins Meera Sanyal - a MNC Banker - contesting independently and funded by self - the South Mumabi Lok Sabha seat. And the reason she offers is "directionless situation post mumbai attacks". As an individual - i had dreamnt the same - of educated people joining politics. I dreamnt to make it to the finals of the Time of India initiative - where people were invited to go thru the rigour of selection process - to contest the Lok Sabha elections. (I guess Ravi Misra was the winner and he is contesting the elections from Bangalore). But as an average individual - I dreamnt - but i didnt act - hence i didnt even submit my forms (forget about contesting and winning). Is this the difference between and Dreamer (me!!) and a Doer (Meera, JP, RM, etc)? While i boast of a simple life - is this incident translating simplicitiy to complacency? I am not sure!! But one thing i am sure about is people like Meera and JP inspire others (me being no exception to the rule of getting inspired) and get to make people understand the simplicity of life.....

My readings

Phew - its been a long time (over a year) and on the insistence of my very close confide I decided to key in my random thoughts - and as usual as ever - these are unedited and free flowing statements. Any corrections? Apologies for the same

I know know one would have waited for my post eagerly and probably that could be one of the reasons that i couldnt key in my thoughts regularly at this forum. But today - again - i got a push and a request to start blogging and I assume this time it will be a consistent approach to blog.

Of late i have been reading Shantaram - a book par excellence - a book that reflects "ME" - i felt reading the book was like looking in the mirror at myself - every line - every page - every motion and every emotion. The only thing that's a difference between me and the book is that i do not have any known criminal records. The wonderful message that I got reading it (its still a long way for completion) - is - hurt or happy - is a matter of choice. The author has ably reflected that even in maximum pain a person may still choose to stay happy and i strongly believe this. What more examples are needed to prove this point than reflecting on my own life?

I have made a commitment to myself that i would work towards refining a person - the person is well defined and what is needed is just some positive steps and statements to push the person to refinement. My opinion on such issues - every person has the experience and expertise to do things that suit them best at a given point of time - e.g. a infant knows (even if language is a barrier) how to forcefully present the case to feed it with milk. The experience and expertise of an infant is just enough for it to achieve things that are needed at that point of time. But this person gave me an opportunity to see if i can do the best for the person. Not that she is not capable - just an opportunity for me to reflect my capability. But the question always remains - should i lose and win or should i win and lose? I am no Baazigar (for the movie buffs) - here i represent not bollywood roles but just the "Simple life of Sujay"

Agri crisis – An opportunity waiting to be tapped?

The headlines have been there!! World heading for food crisis!! Food prices spiraling!! Short-fall in food grains production! In fact – a latest headline – poses the question – Is the agriculture minister of India spending more time for cricket than for the impending Wheat crisis?

The message is clear – World heading for food crisis. There have been constant references to the Great Bengal Famine that wiped out a million plus population during the early 19th Century. As a response to the famine the Green revolution took place. In a nutshell – green revolution meant increased use of chemical fertilizers – better variants (highly productive and insect resistant crops) – dependent on irrigation and facilitating multiple crop cycles in a year!!

India has been the most successful of all the countries that invented and experimented with Green revolution. What was once stated – that Indian population would go down – fighting hunger – has been erased and today India is a food exporting country. Same is the case with many Asian countries!!

But soon – the benefits of Green Revolution started to fade out. As the crops became more irrigation dependent – there has been severe pressure on the water resources. And also the rain-man started to play his share of havoc. The yield started dropping dramatically. Today – to get the same amount of yield – a lot of additional resources – fertilizers, water, etc – are needed. While the population of the developed countries started to move away from the conventional food – the worlds most populous countries – India and China – continue to cultivate and hunt for additional food resources in order to keep their population less hungry. The same is the case with all the developing economies. THE WORLD IS HEADING FOR AGRI CRISIS!!

But all is not bleak – if India opens its eyes then there is a huge potential waiting to be tapped. India is primarily an agrarian economy. In spite of massive strides in manufacturing and technology – more than half of Indian population are agriculture dependent. This means – if the world food crisis is addressed properly – by the visionaries of India – and proper procedures are put in place – then there is a possibility that India can soon produce – millionaire farmers. And much more important development of this initiative would be – a respectable life for an “always” poor and debt ridden Indian farmer.

The so called methodology of making millionaire farmers is not as easy as said. A number of issues have to be addressed and creative solutions put in place. The following highlight a few of them

· Revive the PDS (Public distribution system) and there by ensure that the average Indian is not deprived of food that’s stacked up in the godowns
· Move back from chemical fertilizers to organic fertilizers. Unlike the popular belief – that organic fertilizers don’t provide yields as much as the synthetic and chemical fertilizers - the experiments with organic fertilizers have given similar results – without effecting the other inputs required for agriculture
· Expand the green revolution – which was limited only to food crops – to other crops. There is a large potential for extending the green revolution to vegetables and fruits – the second source of income for farmers and supplements to the main food for the people at large
· Increase the logistic support – transport, storage, delivery – such that the right kind of food reaches the right kind of people
· A active participation of the public – private sector for developing and percolating – new variants of crops – that demand lesser inputs and yield higher outputs
· Most importantly – as far as Indian consumer is concerned – reduce the food miles and encourage the increase of food miles in case of non-Indian consumers. Food miles are the no of miles a particular crop is transported to reach the end consumer. So effectively it means – if the Indian population consumes food produced in the nearby fields – there by cutting down heavy investments on transportation of food to far end markets – the average farmer would spend less on transport. This would directly have a bearing on his profitability
· Do away with marginal holdings of the poor farmer – form a kind of cooperative – similar to ANAND – and thereby drive economies of scale. The cooperative – while retaining the individual ownership of the farmer’s farm – facilitates economies of scale by driving similar cropping over large tracts of land.
· And lastly – with extreme caution – experiment with transgenic variants of crops. The extreme caution signal comes based on the fact that the poor and marginalized farmer is ready to experiment with anything that can give him some money and in that order he might overlook the dangers of genetically modified variants of crops.

And as for me – I have worked towards simplifying my food patterns and contribute to reduction in food miles. After all – I need to do much more to achieve a SIMPLE LIFE OF SUJAY

Cheers and GOD bless all!!

Kings and Rulers - Can we do away with them?

It took us decades – to get the colonial Britishers to leave the Indian shores! We tried – rebellion, partial governance and finally Satyagraha to get the much deserved freedom. Freedom from being ruled by a force, that never belonged to this land. But in a giffy – less then few hours – we had the next set of rulers!!!

The so called leaders of the masses suddenly took the form of rulers. People who had been amongst us and people who were part of us – were suddenly – out of nowhere – a different class! And this class of people was not the raja or maharaja – neither the czars nor the colonists! They called themselves the politicians / ministers! The claimed that they were born to serve us and the hidden agenda was to rule us!! Self sacrifice was the visible motto where as stealth and greed was the invisible motto!!

And the common man – with the absence of common sense – and the lack of looking at the creative side of the new class of rulers – submitted himself – to another time and pace of ruling!! Well – while I leave the issue of how the common man is being ruled – the basic question arises – Why do we - if at all we - want to be ruled!!

There are numerous theories that are floating on the net and in books from respected publishing houses. A single search command generates a few hundreds of thousands of links that take you to the reasons for having the need to be ruled!! In the following lines – I summarize my understanding of why the human being (or should I say average Indian) – wants to be ruled – when – in history – he fought against rulers who ruled the average man!

The theory is that collective strength is better than individual strength – and there by the human population comes together to fight away any adversaries. But soon the collective group looks out for one person or group of persons who can carry out the arbitrage exercise in case of conflicting ideas. The rules were laid out and the arbitrator had assuming powers to rule or over-rule ideas / suggestions, etc. Soon this arbitrator was writing the rule set and calling for policing / war rules in case of non-compliance!! Soon this arbitrator become the king who could decide what needs to be done and there were subjects of this king who never challenged his / her supremacy and simply followed was ordered by the king!!

And the answer to “Why the rulers want to rule the common man” is that only when there are dumb subjects that the master is all worthy!! Only amongst the idiots does the intelligent man have maximum recognition”

In an ideal condition – when there are no external threats – the king and the subjects reach equilibrium. But for the ruler who is intelligent – is it very difficult to showcase a non-existent threat and continue to rule??? The case in point here is the Karnataka Politics – its over few months now that the house of representatives is dissolved and there has been little or no affect on the common man. What was done by a council of ministers in now being done by the Governor and his advisers. It’s a huge saving on the exchequer!! But then again – the common man is getting ready to case his vote and elect his preferred ruler – oooopsss – his preferred leader!! A common mistake committed by the common man!!
Cheers and be happy – being ruled for ever!!!

Plastics, Detergent and the Dams – Whats common about these three?

The title looks rather misleading – according to my “general” knowledge – there can be nothing common between all the three words. However – an approach from an empirical view point makes it clear that all are – when not managed properly –disastrous for the humankind.

Lets start with Plastics – the popular belief is – plastics when – produced with the right specifications – are good! They help us in managing our environment better – by saving trees. The harsh reality is (as advocated by various proponents of save environment) – plastics have infinite life – once created – they cannot be destroyed!!! The best that can be done is to re-cycle them and use them over their infinite life space. Phew – at least the word – “recycle” – brings a small smile on the eternally frowning faces of the environmentalists. Now – another – Yorker – in front of the Indian population (as I am not sure of world statistics) – is – more than 20% of solid waste generated in India is plastic waste and even more alarming is the fact that – this 20% is in non-recyclable form i.e. the plastic covers are so thin that they cannot be recycled!! When we speak of compounding value (refer this term at any of the investing sites) in case of investments – it brings a broad smile on the face of the investors!! But what happens when this compounding effect happens to the 20% of non-recyclable plastic waste – scary enough!! Stop getting scared and start addressing the issue – by way of using jute – and in the worst case – at least use - recyclable plastic!! In my opinion lets give the plastics a finite life (let the technocrats put their grey cells to use and discover organic plastics – that have limited shelf life) and there by improve the quality of the finite human life!!

Detergents war has been on – for several years now!! Every notable brand challenges the consumers to prove that their detergent is not effective!! And in the bargain – the naïve consumer believes that he has bought the best product!! But the persistent use of detergent seeps into ground water resources – uses up the oxygen for chemical disintegration. The usage of oxygen by detergents – deprives the flora and fauna, of the survival element of life, in the areas where the detergents seeps into the ground water sources. So can anyone live up and say no to detergents and use natural cleansing agents?

Dams – needless to say – have had many advocates – for as well as against them!! And there has been enough political dramatics!! Dams that have been in news - dams built over Narmada, Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari, etc. While the dams bring in water for the survival of human and animal population across the parched dry lands and also tame the wild rivers – they also destroy the landscapes by deforestation - deprive the poor and marginal farmers of their livelihood and no need to mention the destruction inflicted on the sane and civilized animals (as humans are racing towards insanity and uncivilized living). And there have been so many instances – where in – to save the crops and population at a distance of few hundred miles – dams have been built – and in the very near vicinity – the poor and marginalized farmer – is deprived of water – and hence faces severe loss on agriculture.
If only I had used earthenware, used natural elements and stayed simple – I guess I would have achieved – at least partially – A SIMPLE LIFE OF SUJAY!!

Progress Can Kill

Another lazy Sunday, with lot of mist and fog, of a cool winter day in the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore. With sleepy set of eyes, picked up the paper and browsing thru. Same news all over again. Politics, killings, failures and success stories of most of the greedy people. Nothing different from yesterday. The only difference is the news is more dirtier, more gruesome and more disturbing.

Well, three articles, one after the other, posted in three sequential pages, in the same newspaper,have made me alert and opened up eyes to the full.

“Greenpeace activists try to stop whaling”
“Progress can kill”
“Is progress always good”

In the first article the news item covers the aspect of Greenpeace teams trying to save the endangered hunch back whales. The cat and mouse rat takes place at the south end of the globe, where the GP activists are chasing a killer boat!! And why are the killer boats on such a suicidal mission? “Greed for fast money” and the money at stake is derived by killing life form that, in spite of its “gigantic size”, could never match to the cruelty levels of human being.

In the second article – as the title suggests – that progress – at a super fast pace – and with highest levels of greed – can be disastrous. The author speaks about every growth – has to stop at a certain level and achieve balance. If the growth is beyond a certain sustainable and acceptable levels – it becomes CANCEROUS!! The rule is universal and there are no exceptions to the rule. A population that grows beyond acceptable levels, money and greed, performance, etc - all follow the same rule. When corporates continue to grow, at a rapid pace, they create causalities in the form of heavier consumption of resources and there by destroying the world we live in!! So to summarize – “Progress can kill”. According to the author of the referred article – everything should slow down / stop after a desired level is achieved. For example – the countries double digit growth should happed and once the basic requirements are met and the country’s population has a sustainable life style – the economies should grow only at a level where consumption and production supplement each other.

The third article re-emphasizes the fact that what is good for one need not be good for the others. Progress to some is disastrous to others. The author of this article referred to the “progress” the British introduced to the Andaman islands. The result of introduction of “progress” was catastrophic. The natives of Andaman islands, were driven out of their livelihoods. They were brought out of the forests and brought in to “homes” in Port Blair. And the result was – unable to match to the new environment and unable to cope to the new surroundings – the 150 babies of the Andamanese who were brought to port Blair died below the age of 3 years. And the disaster continued at such a rapid pace that today – hardly – 53 people of that entire race are alive and the reproduction of the tribe has stopped completely!! In the name of progress – we the civilized – have completely killed a tribal race!

In my personal opinion – while I don’t deny that progress is good – at a non-cancerous level – we all should try and live with nature and try not to create a flawed world where everyone suffers – rich and poor alike!!

And again these three articles have reiterated my strong belief to achieve “A simple life of Sujay”

Cheers and GOD bless all!!