Growing Older and Maybe Wiser....

"To celebrate growing older, I wrote down the lessons life has taught me.” 

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 

 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 

 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 

 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 

 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 

 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 

12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 

13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 

14. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 

15. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 

16. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 

17. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 

18. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 

19. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 

20. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy suit. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 

21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 

 22. The most important sex organ is the brain. 

23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 

24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 

25. Always choose life. 

 26. Forgive everyone everything. 

 27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time. 

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 

30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 

31. Believe in miracles. 

32. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. 

33. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 

34. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. 

35. Your children get only one childhood. 

36. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 

37. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 

38. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 

39. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 

40. The best is yet to come... 

41. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 

42. Life isn't tied up like a present, but it's still a gift."

 

 

 

Ode to Success

“Victory” 

You are the person who used to boast That you would achieve the utmost, Someday. 

You merely wished to show, To demonstrate how much you know, And prove the success that you can grow… 

Another year we have just passed through, 

What new ideas came to you? 

How many good things did you do? 

Time; left 12 months in your care, 

How many of them did you share? With opportunity and dare,

Again where you so often missed? 

We do not find you on the list of those who succeed. 

Explain the fact! 

No, it was not the chance you lacked! 

As usual, you just failed to act!

 

The Confident People

Be confident, not just in yourself but in your country and your fellow citizens. 

Remember, it’s much easier to despair over what might seem an irrevocable erosion of our institutions and traditions which made this country great, than it is to see the progress we are making in preserving our institutions and traditions. 

Compounding our despair is the dominant media culture, especially the foreign media like CNN, Fox, NBC, which do not reflect our values and concerns. The media constantly pounds us with gloom and doom scenarios, which have a negative effect on our psyche. 

The truth is that when we look at our national policies and national priorities, it is not the people who are out of touch with reality; it is the political parties and their national level leadership. Political parties are simply unable to extricate themselves from the bondage they have placed themselves in, by building their power base on beggar vote constituencies. 

The across-the-board sycophancy is now failing as they have exploited the masses to the extreme and have not been able to steer mass quantities of money towards this beggar constituencies for the past few years. The socialists and the likes had sustained themselves for years on government grants and subsidies. These are now reduced to a trickle. 

Political parties now exist primarily off the donations of the rich, on political kickbacks and whatever contributions they can get from the public at large. Remember, the people in politics or their party groups do not work for a living in the traditional sense. They survive only by inventing crises or by fabricating some threat to the social fabric. That is why they appear to be more active and visible, while becoming more hysterical every day. They cannot provide for themselves so they hope that by making a nuisance of themselves they will get others to feed them. 

These people have made our country bankrupt, financially and morally. Reputed economists have pointed out that with the money we have spent on poverty reduction programs since the 1950s, we could have purchased the entire assets of every fortune 50 companies in the world and developed virtually every acre of land in our country. 

Yet, not only we have not eliminated poverty, but also many social problems are far worse than before. 

You know it and I know it. 

And more important, they know it too. Indians are no longer willing to burden the millions of rupees that are poured into programs that fail to accomplish any goal. We are weary of supporting a socialistic system that is anti-progressive, indicts tradition, promotes cultural disharmony and serves as a breeding ground for more anti social elements. 

Policies that are nothing more than threats for more violence and disharmony should we refuse to meet the financial demands of those who are representing thugs, murderers, arsonists and looters. They are making threats about instability of the nation, out of desperation and panic. 

First, they realize that government largesse in the form of development funds for social assistance is over, because the money is just not there. 

Second, the cold realization that, after 50 years of uninterrupted catering of their demands, their primary ideas and theories on social justice and economic fairness just does not work. They do not know what to do, except to shout and scream in an attempt to frighten and intimidate those who are now more educated and will no longer be controlled by these demons. 

 We are the future. 

We cannot give up what is right. We have to break this strangle hold that the socialists and the communalists have on our nation and our society. We have to be confident. 

Our nation has not run out of opportunities. Our children can live in an India that is better, safer, and more prosperous. Life is a never-ending battle and we have to fight the battle that we land into.

 

Close Encounters of the Bear Kind

Himachal is known as the abode of the Gods. 

Pristine, beautiful and one with nature, the mountains of Himachal are the most beautiful in the world. The roads are narrow and one has a breath taking view of mountain peaks that seem to touch the skies, and deep gorges that can give any person an instant vertigo. Himachal is also a sleepy place where the businesses & shops close at dusk. 

It is thus a matter of surprise for a city person to land in Dalhousie at two hours after midnight and to expect something/ someone to be around. Even the stray animals are sleeping soundly at that hour. Those who are impatient of this lazy attitude of the locals, try to find some transportation to the photo-scenic town of Khajjiar (the official Switzerland of India); and ends up hitching a ride on a milk truck; whose driver helpfully allows one to ride with him the 24 kilometers to Khajjiar for only a small fee, paid in advance. 

Sitting in that milk truck and watching the winding road under the full moon-light can be a lovely experience, till the truck grinds to a halt in the middle of nowhere. After 15 minutes of trying to get the truck to move, the driver gives up all efforts and decides to sleep under the truck; which is at a standstill right in the middle of the road. Since being hit by another speeding vehicle under the full moon’s light is a chance that one does not want to take; one gets out and ponders on the situation, especially where to sit and/or sleep till the dawn arrives. 

With no real guidance from one’s new found travel associate and the useful bit of information from mile marker stone that Khajjiar is only 06 km away; the rather adventurous idea of trekking that last few miles under the bright moonlight takes hold. A few moments of hesitation and one starts walking boldly down the road, with a deep gorge on one side and forest covered cliffs on the other. The fresh mountain air puts a spring in one’s step and rough calculations of the mind puts the destination only a two hours hike away. 

As the milk truck fades way in the back and the moonlight seems a bit dimmer, enthusiasm is replaced to a certain degree by uncertainty and a bit of slowing down in one’s steps towards the destination. The silence seems to enhance one’s hearing and the rustling of the trees in the slight wind seems as loud as a storm. 

One starts to notice small gleaming green lights dancing in trees and following along, but is unable to decide the source of these lights till one notice’s that it’s the color of eyes of the monkey(s) who are following alongside in the trees, perhaps attracted by something that one is wearing or by the hope of getting food from the insane middle-of-the-night trekker. 

 Not wanting to be bitten by a monkey (one has always heard of horror stories in the media) one reaches inside the small back pack for a weapon, anything to defend oneself from the animals of the wild; and gets hold of the spray deodorant. With the can held firmly in one hand and the mobile phone in the other, one is now fully prepared to defend oneself by spraying the attacking animals with the powerful deodorant while making them listen to the music play list at full volume. 

The pace is now faster, a bit off a trot while one tries to guess from which flank the marauding monkeys will attack. So intense is the concentration on the monkeys that one trots around a bend and almost runs into the mountain bear ambling down the road. It is hard to determine who is more surprised and afraid; the man or the bear; but there is a very silent pause as man, bear and monkey assess the situation. 

The Indian bear is unlike the tall grizzly of the North Americas. It is smaller in size, maybe five feet tall at full stretch and does not seem too bulky. But, in the moonlight night it is a villain to be overcome. Moments pass as man and beast study each other and the bear makes the first move. Maybe it just wants to hug the man or maybe shake hands, the motive is unclear, but as the bear steps near, the human high-tech weapons are brought into action. 

When loud music has no visible effect on the bear, deodorant is sprayed in the bear’s face, with the wild hope that it will have the same effect as that of pepper spray. The bear sniffs at the spray, almost as if to appreciate the perfume; and then starts sneezing violently, with accompanying loud grunts. Unable to determine, whether the bear’s grunts are from the sneezing or a sign of an impending attack one’s feet takes wings and the steadfast trekker is transformed into a long distance runner. 

Soon, the steps start to falter as the lungs gasp for air and the hymns of worship calling upon the Gods for protection are being repeated in the mind as one walks at a fast trot towards the destination. Time seems to drag and every strange sound is amplified in the dark, as the eyes seek desperately for any sigh of humans or human habitat. 

Panic is replaced by exhaustion, as the legs start to weigh a ton each and each step is an effort. Suddenly, the skies start to lighten as the sun starts to rise. Sunrise in the Himalayas is fast and before one can sing the complete national anthem, the sun is high in the sky, lighting up the awesome mountain ranges of the lower Himalayas and the majestic snow capped peaks far away on the horizon. 

As one finally straggles into the small six-shop hamlet of Khajjiar; one heaves a sigh of relief in surviving the night and close encounters of the bear kind. 

 Statutory Note: Dying of animal bites can be injurious to one’s health.

 

 

Social Discipline and Crime Control

Social Discipline and Crime: 

The issue of the lack of social discipline and the growing criminal tendencies cannot be ignored any longer. The growing criminal activity is a direct result of socio-economic-political factors and can be attributed to a succession of weak governments and an even weaker and inappropriate legal structure. 

Criminality is on the rise, simply because the mechanism of law and order and prosecution of crime is both inadequate and slow in its process. This problem can only be tackled by a complete overhaul of our legal system and its mechanisms. While legal luminaries in India could give much better advise on the changes required in our legal system, the basic requirement is making the courts more people friendly and efficient. 

It is strongly believed that a ‘jury’ system will not only ensure a fair trial for the accused, but will also ease the strain that is put upon the judges as they singularly tackle a ever increasing work load. 

A social code of conduct is required on an immediate basis that not only prescribes the way that the individuals should conduct themselves in public places, but would also emphasize the manner in which social groups have to conduct themselves as a whole. This code of conduct, strictly enforced, will definitely reduce the social crimes that afflict the majority of our people today. This will not, in any form or manner, impinge upon the individual’s right to privacy, but will help in streamlining social interaction amongst the people. 

Social code of conduct would cover the areas of noise pollution, cleanliness in the streets and in municipal wards, ease of removal of garbage, prohibit the misuse of public areas as open air urinals and latrines, prohibit the use of public areas as spittoons, and allow for a smooth and easier use of public facilities like footpaths and foot bridges. 

The removal of footpath vendors would be a prime concern towards a better and safer use of footpaths, as would be the redesigning of the pubic facilities for use by handicapped persons. Most of the social issues in our nation today can be attributed to a weak mechanism for prosecution of crime. Criminality has been glorified as a medium of social change, but this in fact has proven (by recent events in Maharashtra and Karnataka) to be precursor in organized crime involving all strata of society and the bureaucracy. 

Crime prosecution figures are as varied as the groups that poll these figures. But, the perception amongst the general population is that much of the criminal activity is unchallenged by the government; thereby reinforcing in the mind of both the people and the criminals that the rule of the law is weak and impotent. The suggestions for improving the current situation is as follows: 

 a) The deployment on a crisis basis of Citizens Identity Cards. 

b) Upgrading of the police and law enforcement departments with modern machinery to track and investigate crime and persons associated with criminal activities. 

c) Sharing of criminal files amongst city, state and central law enforcement agencies on a real time basis to ensure a free flow of information for prevention of crime. 

d) A stronger and affirmative legal structure that allows for a faster prosecution of criminals. 

e) A hard labor based punishment policy for criminals that allow the society to utilize the physical and mental talents of convicted criminals. 

f) A provision under law to appropriate and sell assets of economic and serious crime offenders, in order to confiscate illegal earning and return them to the government treasury, which in turn will self-finance the criminal prosecution efforts. 

g) The restoration of the death penalty for heinous crimes. It has been proved in societies around the globe and over periods of time that a successful and strong nation is always the result of the strength of character and discipline among its individual citizens.

 

 

Is the Hindu Samaj Dead ?

 

April 2009

 The Hindu Samaj: Dead and Gone? 

Today as the nation enters the 2nd phase of the 2009 general elections, we are faced with a growing gap between democracy and on the ground politics. While the elections are being held to allow the people to vote into the Parliament their own chosen candidate; the reality is that each section of the people is pushing into the electoral field their choice of candidate based on caste, creed and religion. 

Political speeches are aimed at and focused prominently upon the caste factor or the religious affinity of the electorate towards its candidates. Hindu and Muslim politicians are focusing on their religious vote banks to get to the seat of power; while using words like democratic process and secularism to try and get the fringe votes from those voters who are either ignorant or totally unconcerned about the value of their each single vote. 

The deep divides in the Hindu Samaj of our country is confusing. Hindus are either unaware of the danger to the Hindu Samaj (Polity) from both the Christians & Muslims; or the Hindus do not care if India again becomes a country ruled either by the Muslims (as it was by the Mughals) or by the Westerners (as it was by the British). Hindus are today divided in thought, speech and action. 

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is dormant. The VHP has not undertaken any effort to spread the Hindu philosophy or culture to the young of India. The leadership of the VHP must understand that if they do not modify their efforts to attract the attention of the youngsters, the VHP will be soon totally redundant and will vanish into history. Those of the VHP who think that this cannot happen must remember that the ‘Abhinav Bharat’ movement started by Veer Savarkar is today non-existent. Organizations die when they are not flexible towards changing times and change in attitudes. 

The other ‘Hindutva’ organization, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in utter confusion. All Indians know that L.K. Advani is focused on becoming the Prime Minister of India after the 2009 elections. Most Indian people know that Advani will fail miserably in this self-seeking goal. BJP seems to be divided into camps; each having their own agenda. Advani is pushing himself as the strong leader, the ‘Loh Purush’ of India, the man of vision and resolve, with Rajnath Singh hanging desperately to his coat-tails. The others of the BJP are mostly busy criticizing the Congress (Sonia Miano Gandhi) party and their former allies. It is apparent to the entire nation that the BJP comes across as a party of people who complain and whine. 

The only sane and stable person in the BJP is Narendra Modi, whose speeches are focused on development and economic growth. Modi is a man who has delivered growth to the people of Gujarat; so his speeches carry the strength of authenticity and pride. But one Modi cannot make an entire BJP, not at least in the current election. 

The third ‘Hindutva’ organization is the Shiv Sena. Regardless of the fact that the Shiv Sena has not been able to achieve a national victory in any election; this is the single party who under the leadership of Balasaheb Thakrey has always maintained a singular political agenda and a strong focus on Hindu Pride. However, the party has never been able to expand beyond the confines of Maharashtra

The issue in a nut-shell is that Hindu Rashtra (Polity) is a divided community. Hindus are focused on caste and regionalism rather than on being only ‘Hindus’. Given this divide, the Hindu political vote in the city casts his ballot on the basis of foreign political philosophy (Communism; as can be seen in Bengal and Kerala) or on the basis of secularism (those who vote for Congress). Other Hindus are so divided on the basis of caste that they either have their own regional parties or they are outside the electoral process because they are totally disgusted with the current politics. 

If India has to survive as a strong democracy, where every person has equal rights and equal freedom of thought, speech & action; then India must be reinforced by Hindustan. The Hindu community must be persuaded to unite under one political philosophy and under one political organization so that the dangers that our nation faces will be tackled correctly and comprehensively. 

It should be the duty (dharma) of each Hindu to be an active part of the Indian political process. Whether as a tutor spreading the knowledge of Hinduism & Hindutva or as a student absorbing this knowledge, each Hindu has to take on the right to question the Government of India; constantly and daily on every issue. It is only when the Government is answerable on a daily basis to over 700 million of its Hindu population; that is when we will have a government that functions for the people. 

Let us all Hindus unite to form a nation – united under one philosophy and one flag that will provide India with a Government “Of the people; By the people & For the People”.

PROCLAMATION TO THE INDIAN NATION

 

 PROCLAMATION TO THE INDIAN NATION April, 2009 

MANY years have passed in our country where the Indian people, blinded by promises by politicians at home and abroad, lost touch with honor and freedom, thereby losing almost everything. In these days of treachery, the Almighty God has withheld his blessing from our people. Dissension and hatred has descended upon us. With profound distress millions of the best Indian men and women from all walks of life have seen the unity of the nation vanishing away, dissolving in a confusion of political and personal opinions, economic interests, and ideological differences. 

In these days, as so often in the past, India has presented a picture of heartbreaking disunity. We never received the equality and fraternity we had been promised, and we lost our liberty day-after-day. For when our nation has lost its political focus in the world, it soon loses its unity of spirit and will-power. We are firmly convinced that the Indian nation entered the fight for freedom and filled only with the desire to liberate the Motherland which had been occupied and to gain the freedom; the very existence, of the Indian people. 

This being so, we can only see in the disastrous fate which has overtaken us since those days of 1947; the result of the collapse of our political principles at home. But the rest of the world, too, has suffered no less since then from overwhelming crises. The balance of power which had evolved in the course of history, and which formerly played no small part in bringing about the understanding of the necessity for an internal strength of the nations, with all its advantages for trade and commerce, has been set on one side. 

The insane conception of political victory at any cost has destroyed the confidence existing between the people and the government, and, at the same time, the industry of the entire Nation. The misery of our people is horrible! Millions of trained workers are unemployed and starving; the whole of the middle class and the small artisans are impoverished. When this collapse finally reaches all the Indian farmers, we will be faced with an immeasurable disaster. For then not only shall a nation collapse, but a ten-thousand-year-old inheritance, some of the loftiest products of human culture and civilization will also be lost. All about us the warning signs of this collapse are apparent. 

Socialism, with its method of madness is making a powerful and insidious attack upon our dismayed and shattered nation. It seeks to poison and disrupt in order to hurl our society into complete chaos. This negative, destroying spirit spares nothing of all that is highest and most valuable. Beginning with the family, it has undermined the very foundations of morality and faith and scoffs at culture and business, nation and Matrubhoomi, justice and honor. 

Years of Socialism have ruined India; one year of a Socialist- Communist- Opportunist combination will destroy our Nation. The richest and most beautiful land of the world would be turned into a heap of ruins. Even the sufferings of the last decade and a half could not be compared to the misery of our nation in the heart of which the various flags of destruction will be hoisted. The thousands of wounded, the hundreds of dead that has already cost India should be a warning of the destructive storm which will come. 

In these hours, when our hearts are troubled about the life and the future of the Indian nation, the youth of the Nation are appealing to us. They call to those of us in nationalist parties and social organizations to struggle once more, in unity and loyalty, for the salvation of the Indian nation. This time the fight is in our home. And as leaders of the nation and the national government we must vow to God, to our conscience, and to our people that we will faithfully and resolutely fulfill the task conferred upon us. The inheritance which has fallen to us is a terrible one. The task with which we are faced is the hardest which has fallen to Indian leaders within the memory of this generation. 

But we are all filled with unbounded confidence for we believe in our people and our cultural virtues. Every class and every individual must help us to form the nation of Hindustan. Our National Government must regard it as it’s first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and co-operation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It must regard Nationalism as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life. 

Turbulent self interests must be replaced by a national discipline as the guiding principle of our social and civil life. All those institutions which are the strongholds of the energy and vitality of our nation must be taken under the special care of our Government. The National Government should intend to solve the problem of the reorganization of the Nation with two five-year plans: The Indian farmer must be rescued in order that the nation may be supplied with the necessities of life. A concerted and all-embracing focus must be made on developing the industry so that unemployment is reduced and the Indian working class saved from ruin. 

In the last 20 years our politicians have created an army of millions of unemployed. The National Government must, with iron determination and unshakable steadfastness of purpose, put through the following plan: 

1) Full benefits to the farmers by supply of power, water resources, market rates for the farm products and infrastructure development. 

2) Fast track approvals for small and medium business enterprises (SME), using the one- window theory of administration. 

3) Tax holidays of 10 years to SME in rural zones. 

4) Zero customs duty for import of plant & machinery for manufacturing. 

5) Compulsory labor-service and the back-to-the-land policy should be two of the basic principles of this program. 

6) The securing of the necessities of life will include the performance of social duties to the sick, the aged and the handicapped. 

In an economical administration, with the promotion of employment, the preservation of the farms, as well as in the sponsoring of individual initiative, we see the best guarantee for a stable currency in our Nation. As regards its foreign policy we must consider it our highest duty to secure the right to live without fear and the restoration of full freedom to our people. 

Our determination to bring to an end the chaotic state of affairs in India will assist in the restoration to the community of equal value and, above all, a State which must grant equal rights to all. May the good will of others assist us in this fulfillment of this our earnest wish for the welfare of India. 

If, however, India is to experience this political and economic revival and conscientiously fulfill her duties toward the other nations, one decisive step is absolutely necessary first: the overcoming of the destroying menace of Socialism in India. 

We must understand the responsibility of the people for the restoration of orderly life in our nation and for the elimination of class madness and class struggle. We must recognize no classes, we must see only the Indian people; millions of farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs who will either overcome together the difficulties of these times or be overcome by disasters of Time. 

We must be firmly resolved and we must take this as our oath. Since the present Government is incapable of lending support to this work, we ask the Indian people to perform the task themselves. Unity is our tool. Therefore we now appeal to the Indian people to support this reconciliation. 

Our Nation’s people wish to work and they will work. We must be determined to make well in five years the ills of many years. But this work of reconstruction cannot be dependent upon the approval of those who created destruction. The Socialist - Marxist parties and their lackeys have had many years to show what they can do. The result is a ruin of our Nation. 

Now, people of India, give yourself five years and then pass judgment upon this Nation. In accordance with our “dharma” we must begin now. May God Almighty give our work His blessing and strengthen our purpose, and endow us with wisdom and the trust of our people, for we are fighting not for ourselves but for India.

Jai Hind.