Testify: cruel thirst for worship

O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace.
Help me in all things to rely upon your holy will.
In every hour of the day reveal your will to me.Bless my dealings with all who surround me.
Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul,
and with firm conviction that your will governs all.
In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings.
In unforeseen events let me not forget that all are sent by you.
Teach me to act firmly and wisely,
Without embittering and embarrassing others.
Give me the strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day
with all that it shall bring.
Direct my will, teach me to pray,pray yourself in me.

I still remember the prayer I use to recite in the morning assembly. The sole motive of the prayer was to make the budding children spiritually alive. For some time we use to meditate and concentrate on one word: “the almighty” who created this world.

My grandma use to say if I will pray to god I will be able to fulfill all my dreams and if I do bad activities, I will be punished for the same.I use to wonder “Was it like, God like himself to be called as leader. God will fulfill my wishes only if I will pray n kneel down before him?”

Brought up in a theist family I use to visit Jain temples very frequently. We need to take care of each n every minute thing while visiting the temples. Taking bath before going to the temple was must.

At this point of discussion I want to add one anecdote from my life. Here it goes:-

When I was in standard five, my father took me to a village where we have a well known Jain temple. Fortunately I got to meet one of the famous jain monks. Meeting a person so great, who could bear all the cold without any clothes and who can walk on the heat scotched road without slippers and can remain mute for weeks just to save the living organisms present in the air, I was more than happy. I crouched down and touched his feet to respect him and his reaction filled my eyes with tears. He shouted as if an untouchable touched him.

According to him gals (not even a 12 yr small girl) were not supposed to touch him otherwise his purity will get affected.

Taking a closer look into the idea of this monk I realized how vast must be the database of the god to keep record of all the temples, all the visitors, all deeds (good or bad) of people. Say if a follower “A” asked god on date xx/yy/zzzz for “good result in his exams” the factors that would be taken into account will be:-

Whether he offer his prayers daily, he donate large amount at holy pilgrims, he take shower daily n visit nearby temple etc.

And visit at temples also have to have their sub table into the database in which the weight (degree of importance)of each temple

is stored .If he is visiting a famous temple (say one like veshnodevi) expectations are that the wish will be granted for sure and if he had put a condition(the culture of bribe) like to donate “Q”amount of money then he is more eligible for that wish to be in his favor than to a person who is working on the wish like hell.

Have you ever given a thought to what it needs to maintain such a big, stupid and biased database?

I am consistently amazed by the ways that factions present around manipulate the feelings of an innocent child n mend it the way they perceive their culture /religion and hats off to them, they are successful to carry forward their stupid perceptions:-“though god make our wishes come true ,god can be so cruel that he can punish u badly if you don’t take care of the holy affairs, the sanctity and purity of all that is sacred.”

The sanctity of the idol is maintained by no

t letting the gals touch the idol of god.

This I realized when I saw a 5 yr gal touching lord Mahavira’s feet n getting scolded by the people present out there at the temple.

If any God were to be so cruel to punish children by condemning them to dwell a brutal fate, I would inveigh against that God.

Don’t let the convention break hearts of innocent buds.

How our ancestors perceived God is far different from the way it has transcended to us.

While opening up the gift of religion/culture/values that our ancestors gifted us, the germs like greed, taboo, and superstitions got added up to the package and we think that the germs were wrapped inside it.

All this universe work on one principle:-the goodness in us. Our thoughts good or bad are reflected sooner or later and take us to the path we chose. No one else but we ourselves decide our destiny..

When we can’t bear the cruelty of political leader than how can we accept to follow the deity whose image is just so cruel and egoistic .We not only accepts it indeed, it might even become part of the standards for morality and justice.

How bad the God will feel to be blamed like this by his children.

At the end I want to add my poem which says all:-

Since I got up late, I rushed to the college,

I failed to take advantage of orison,

The whole day i was busy lik bee, can’t take out time to crouch before thee,

The meal time was to convince my parents "I vouch.."

Then at night tired and exhausted went to the couch.

Again and again i left the holy book unheeded

The final day came

To the court of god I proceeded

"Anushka" was called

And I stepped into like a clod

Balled over

I saw a billet @ quad

I read the final words of god

"You never talked to me, why should I talk to u?"

To which I answered (with a smile): U were always within me, Is there anything I need to tell you?:)

Illiteracy: A matter of concern

“Illiteracy- The inability to read and write a simple message in any language” (as per the UN’s definition) Let’s first analyze this definition closely. An illiterate person is like a handicapped person who is unfamiliar with the happenings in his surroundings, cant even drive because of his lack of ability to understand the basic symbols and traffic signs, cant read menus and the list goes on. It’s like you can’t be independent.

The illiteracy rates vary from region to region depending on the factors like w

ealth and urbanization. One common thing to be pointed out in the countries with high illiteracy rates is the social custom which curbs the education of females. The main reason I find behind the progress of developed countries is their high literacy rates. This is because high literacy rates mean more knowledgeable and skilled people in the country (what we call human capital). Literate people can understand and learn the things more easily, so they enjoy a higher socio-economic status as well as catalyze the development of the country as a whole. Even if we look into the history, we will find that literacy is the pre requisite for development of the country. The countries like Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, Niger, Guinea, Benin, Somalia, which have low literacy rates also hav

e lower developing rates in comparison to countries with high literacy rates. ( see: illiteracy rate graphs at www.nationmaster.com).

Its hard to figure out whether the issues like child labor, population growth etc are cause for high illiteracy rate or whether the situation is other way round (i.e. its illiteracy which is the mother of all such problems). The query is same as whether the egg came first or the hen. Whatever may be the answer, one thing is for sure that there is a cycle of issues, all interconnected, and fighting against one will definitely affect the chain.

Due to the lack of the ability to read the newspaper, many people remain unaware about the inside story of different elected parties and they take the wrong decisions while casting their votes (in case of democratic countries), which leads to bad governance and problems like unemployment, poverty, etc never taking a back seat. To liberate ourselves from the shackles of ignorance, poverty etc, we need to get out of this vicious circle.

The measures taken so far includes free teaching sessions, educational seminars, programmes and workshops conducted by different organizations. Involving people in different works to create leadership opportunities for youth, learn the acts of fellowship ,.Building up of new schools, colleges etc in all parts of the country is yet another step taken in this regard.

The major reason behind the failure of these programs and actions is the non – participation of people living in rural areas, lack of awareness, corruption involved while utilizing the money donated for building of the schools and colleges. Also the government puts more emphasis on deficit models rather than analyzing the situation properly and making people learn the things they are good at. People are forced to learn the things in which they are least interested and thus it hinders the development of their personality as a whole.

People should be allowed to choose their area of interest and then the respective teaching sessions should be conducted. Moreover the capital donated for building up of educational institutes should be kept under check by vigilance department. Moreover the illegal practices can be stopped by keeping a track on the whole development process, from construction to management of the educational organizations. The practices like paper leakage, lack of staff and mismanagement at the educational institutes should be checked. We,the youth have got the freedom of speech. Lets join hands and enlighten the world.

(nice video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD1Er8sXkTQ&feature=related)

Superstitions: A Hidden Issue

What does superstition mean? As per the conventional definition, it's a belief which says that events are influenced by our behavior in some 'magical' way. In simple words we can say it’s “An extension of our blind beliefs”.

Do you know why auspicious days are chosen by the leaders for their oath taking ceremony,as they assume office? Why that cricketer kisses his locket on scoring a perfect 100? Why he keeps a special colored handkerchief? A simple reason answers all these questions; it’s the satisfaction and confidence they gain with their lucky charms.But the question I intend on asking is: Are these superstitious acts all positive? In most cases, not so.

Today when we give stress to science and modernization, we are advising children to condemn superstitions ; but deep inside we still support these superstitions and follow them and thus knowingly or unknowingly, we are transferring a kind of 'evil' to our children.

In rural areas especially- where we have illiterate masses, the practice of witchcraft, sacrificing lives of animals and men to please god and goddesses, is very common. Even a snake bite is considered as an evil omen. Whether it’s their daily life problems or a big fight, they have faith in  malpractices to work as a weapon against their enemies or to jeopardize them.

People spend a lot of money on blind faith in superstition, just with the hope that these things will work and do wonders for them. The people even refuse to take allopathic and homeopathic tablets due to this misconception and at the time of misery they rely on different stones rather than scientific or practical solutions. Thus, majority of people suffer or die helplessly.

People believe that when light rain falls during a religious ceremony, it indicates a good luck and God is pleased with the ceremony. A simple bath in the river Ganges makes them free from all the evils.

But we have scientific proofs for many of  our beliefs. If we take  the example of Ganges: It has been discovered that a virus called bacteriophage kills the harmful bacteria of human being, is present in the river water, and makes the water pure. But my friends. have you ever given a thought about this virus factor before dipping into the Ganges?

We believe things blindly and later they are supported by scientitific reasoning.Sometimes it even happens the other way round. In many universities when scientists are not able to prove any phenomena, they simply escape by involving the  supernatural power factor.

Few weeks back, three eclipses occurred back to back and it was declared by astrologers that three eclipses in a year are very inauspicious and will bring bad luck. All  caesarian cases were taken before the solar eclipse just to have the baby safe and healthy.

These superstitions are not only responsible for deaths in rural areas, but also are the main reason for anxiety and depression of  people in all parts of our country and even abroad. Many Nigerian women travel to Europe to work as prostitutes. They obtain special charms from juju priest and other purveyors of the paranormal in the hope that they will attract many customers.

In order to bring back the mental stability and vaporize their worries and anxieties, we need to create proper awareness regarding the same .We need to inculcate  in their academic syllabus that which teaches us against blind beliefs. Special seminars should be conducted otherwise we will keep on suffering and this curse will be carried from generation to generation.

Impregnable bond: Fans and Sports

To analyze the link between the two, let me take you to the World cup stadium. What is the most entertaining thing we could point out –The fans!!People wearing florescent multicolored shorts, with their body painted and what more can you expect from these sports fanatics other than screams and shouts with the hope to get inside their favorite player's head.

Believe me; you can expect all insane acts from these craps. From screaming and booing opposing team to sonorous chants, just to keep their team in the game.

The crowd is not all that makes up the fans community. There are many crazy people whose eyeballs are stuck to their TV sets. And those who don't get time to catch the action either on television or live on stadium, Internet comes as a rescue.

Any team good or bad can have die-hard fans, it just depends on how patriotic people are, love for the sport or for the player.

These freaks may seem as jobless people (considering them only as fans), good for nothing but to discuss about performance of players after seeing even a part of the game. Predicting and debating over whether Sachin will make a half century or not and whether he should be the opener or not are the topics on which they can spend hours and hours.

But then what’s the matter of discussing about them .Instead of pointing out the fans we could have discussed about the players or the pitch. The reason for this is that fans play such an important part in all the sports activities indirectly.

Knowing more about fans will help us develop better opportunities for our sponsors. The sale of the products reaches unexpected heights as soon as a famous player becomes its brand ambassador.

Also the players get motivated and filled with the feeling of patriotism and perform better.

But good generally comes with something bad. Sports fans have more to worry than to make a balance between their  work and  mania. Researches show that the anxiety and excitement due to sports not only weaken their heart but also make them more prone to heart attacks and depressions. The deaths at the stadiums due to unexpected performances of the teams show that the fans are so much into the game that they lose their senses to think about anything else. Also they tend to eat more and consume more alcohol while watching the match, thus deteriorating their health.

Moreover if the team for which they are cheering fails to perform to their expectations, they are flooded with abuses by the fans. Security people really have to strive hard to save the players from fans aggression. This not only disappoints the players but also dilutes the spirit of sports.Moreover the players sometimes get so much involved into making money through endorsements that these advertisements take a place over their real priorities and they spend more time in shooting in comparison to exercises and practice sessions.

There are some minute things which should be taken into consideration, both by the fans as well as by the players and soon we will have sports more spirit full and safe. We just need to trust our players and the players need to put their hundred percent to reach up to their fans expectations.

We know world's sports fanatics will never do away with this mania. The traffic jam just after and before the match, sleepless nights, ceaseless discussions, this is what shapes up our lives; I wish we could have better. 

Legalize Euthanasia:justified or not?

“Life is a great canvas and we should throw all paint, we can on it.”

We all want our life to be full of zeal n vigor, dynamic and non monotonous. But what if the canvas gets contorted. My friends lets listen to listen to the real orchestra of “life” and “death”. Let me put before you the virtual picture of hell. A gloomy hospital room, a terminal cancer patient lying on the bed with nothing but white walls and ceiling of hospital room to look at, fully

dependent on nurses even to attend the nature’s call.Isnt it too tiresome job to lie in the bed hour after hour with long needles stucked; sleepless, painful and discomforting nights and unwanted visits of people. My friends this is the scenario which could be witnessed easily in almost all the hospitals. None of the suffering can beat this situation. In cases like this, not only the patient is in much pain but also the people associated with him had to undergo loads pain and misery.

Isn’t it kinder to kill someone who is in great deal of pain than to make him suffer?

I don’t agree with suicide but I think that its truly your desire to die. Ending life to get rid from responsibilities and problems can never be justified but taking those section of people into consideration who undergo incurable pain and trauma without any ray of hope,euthanasia is the best way out.

It’s much humane and practical to grant them right to die and end their life in a relatively painless and merciful way. Obviously one needs to consider the ethical side of it because our life is not only ours. There are many people who are attached to us and their life gets affected by any change (positive or negative) in our life.

But when our grayscale life becomes black, its better not to let the black transcend to our near and dear ones’ life Also to prevent them from emotional and financial burden one hard choice(euthanize) should be necessarily taken. I know the attachment can make one pay the hefty bills and the happiness one get in this, but with his death he could lighten the burden on his family. Initially it may be unfair to their families, but in long run, the decision to give up life will help them greatly.

Now lets put some light on its religious aspect. Its widely said that God created us and he can only take it from us, we cant claim on it. But what I think is god love us and never wants his children to suffer and bear pain.

One more point which needs to be put forward is doctors’ trauma. We all know that death of a person especially if they played a role in it, has profound impact on the person. Doctors become doctors because they want people to live, and asking them to euthanize is like expecting too much. Its extremely selfish to ask a person, to help one die. Even if he know about the long term benefits, but the series of short term trauma is not what he is destined for .(*AWAITS FLAMING).

Invasion From Skies:foreign television channels are destroying our culture

The question "whether foreign television channels are destroying our culture or not" at first seem like the one "egg came first or hen".

As soon as we think about foreign channels ,obnoxious stuffs and obscene scenes creeps into our mind,but at the same time we cant stop ourselves from praising their technological excellence and updating our knowledge from their informative programs.

Its like "fashion channels" vs "discovery".The good is coming with the bad.There is no harm if we watch them for entertainment and wash all as soon as we switch off the T.V,but its a proven fact that bad thing pleases us the most and remain in our mind for long.We cant avoid ourselves from adopting the trends and culture and unconsciously break our link with spiritual legacy handed down by great sages and seers.

Lascivious portrayal of sex and nudity,openness in relationships sooner or later will end up into grave of our "wide" and "diverse" culture for which we Indians are known across the world.

Brain drain and terrorism and the like ,always remain a matter of concern for us but the cultural invasion from skies through the satellites will ruin the mental development of younger generation and is a matter of much more concern.

Even if we say that we are ourselves responsible for what we adopt from these channels ,the teenage mind is too young to differentiate between the right and the wrong,and adopt the bad at the cost of their goodness.

The question now arises is that when India did not lose its identity despite being under foreign rule for so many years ,how could some blady satellite destroy our "non fragile " culture.But let me tel this that the scenario is not the same as it was at the time of foreign rule.Now we are free to do and adopt what we want.Children are not brought up under the supervision of his "housewife" mom.They are much more exposed to the outer world and free to live life their own way.In a survey conducted,it was found that channels showing adult stuffs are more widely watched in comparison to informative channels.

Since each and everyone is here to make money,our Indian channels are adopting the same trend.Serials full of adult content and vulgar stuffs are telecasted all the time and this leaves a lasting impression on the blooming(thanks to kyle for suggesting the adjective:)) buds.

Thus the intensity and warmth in the relationship is degrading and we are moving away from our values and social esteemed culture.

The need for hour is to ban the channels which expose us to overdose of western culture.The adult stuffs should be posted at late hours and watching of only good channels should be encouraged by setting their prices accordingly.

A correct step from government and entertainment industry at this time could result into a better future with our culture preserved.

Please suggest some ideas to fight against this "invasion from skies".

Slum free India In Five Years:The Inside Story

If you are thinking,here we gonna talk about the possible sequel of "Slum Dog Millionaire" then sorry my friends you clicked on the wrong link.

While reading this post you are no more in the virtual world where we get the disclaimer" All characters appearing in this work are fictitious .Any resemblance to real persons ,living or dead ,is purely coincidental".

Our Government put forward Rajiv Awas Yojana, a scheme under which it will offer funds to state governments on condition that they give property rights to slum-dwellers in addition to developing infrastructure and civic services in slums. The scheme will focus on according property rights to slum dwellers and the urban poor with the help of the state government.The legal framework will cover the provision of security of tenure to the urban poor and also make land available for affordable housing.The scheme will provide basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and socia infrastructure facilities in slums and low income settlements.

A skill development programme for employment promotion for the urban poor is also on the 100-day agenda of the ministry.Focus will be on imparting quality training and skill certification through reputed institutions or skills training providers so that the urban poor youth will be enabled to enhance their income and improve their living conditions.

If all goes as planned then this housing scheme definitely gonna offer a ray of hope to slum dwellers and other urban poor to access a decent and dignified living environment and affordable home.

"target of constructing 10 lakh houses. provide central assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh for each family living in slums and lots more........"

Five years seems a small period for such a big project and when its in the hands of our "beloved government" then it becomes next to impossible.When politicians' visit to slum area during the election campaigns wasn't able to melt their hearts, how can a movie affect them so much.Their accepting such a humongous challenge,plants a seed of suspect.

Though "promises are made to be broken" is our government's favourite tag line.

OK lets have a look at some of the previous promises.Remember the Yojana launched in 2005 named as JNNURM(Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission)wherein one of its major objectives say"Provision of basic services to the Urban poor including security of tenure at affordable prices,improved housing ,water supply and sanitation and ensuring delivery of other existing universal services of government for education,health and social security."

Till date no development is done on above.

Even If the all goes as per the plan the problems like

1) Urban poor won't be able to adjust in compact flat,

2 )Cant afford to pay maintenance charges for lifts etc,

3) Not eligible for home loans(Can't afford 4-5 lakhs,if they can they won't fall in low income group,

4)Even banks can't reduce the interest rates because they ensure no pay back guarantee.

So this way or that way,these projects end up into failure.

Its correctly said"If we won't learn from History,We are doomed to repeat it."

While planning for this new project our government is least concerned about these points of failure,So what can be the reason behind such a leniency?

My friends this is not leniency,to understand this we have to think as a member of this existing corruption net.

Firstly in order to collect funds Policies to be made at the expense of tax payers,since tax payers and voters are two different sections of the society and doing something (rather portraying) for the voters at the cost of non voters is a good deal for them.

Moreover the real intention is to help their class allies(industrialists).Real motive is to boost the consumption of cement and steel at Governments expenses and add to their heaping black money.

The hidden plans and motives are much more complex and bestial than we can think of.

We need to create an atmosphere for better future of India.We just have to realize our Power of FREEDOM OF SPEECH and lets pledge that we won't be afraid to use it.Our weapon - speech can only make the things better.

Lets show themthe passion we have about the causes.