Black or White

The question that I am wondering today is about moral policing. Yeah its bad ... who the hell is anyone else to tell me what I am supposed to do with my life, what is morally correct and what is not. Their ethics their principles... well let them take care of it. Don't force them on me. This is against people who try to say that girls should not wear provocative clothes or should not go to discs and bars or those Taaliban people telling that girls are not supposed to get educated.. well... thats correct I did not agree with them all... I read it some where : Values are the tape that we play in the walkman of our minds, any tune is fine as long as it does not disturb others.... someone said it rather well...

But should you never stop anyone from doing anything on moral grounds? I believe that I have too many redundant and outdated ethical values. I do not like it when people use office property for personal use too much. When you make unnecessary personal calls from office. I do not like it when you bribe the police man or the passport agent. I do not like when someone lies to others in order to get some kind of favour. Its not that I have never been tempted to do these. But somehow I could never do something that did not seem correct. I am sure that things that lie in morally grey area for me must be grossly wrong for some others. All of us have some sense of right and wrong, whether we listen to that voice or not is a question. But are you not supposed to stop anyone from doing anything?

If you know that someone is cheating on his wife or her husband are you supposed to stay mum? If you know that someone has sent fake resumes for job or has been lying about his income to the tax officers should you just watch that in silence? Or when you see someone not taking bus ticket or not working in the office or throwing wastes on streets? I know that things often disturb my peace and I have to consciously stop myself from speaking and I don't like it a bit.

If I am allowed to comment on these issues, do I give others a right to comment on my attire as well. There is no defined limit probably, except that use of physical force is not a valid rule of the game. Well guess that means for the time being people can use office phones for personal calls, not buy ticket or yell in public places.. I will not stop them. But I am sure someday my patience will give up and I will wear that moral police uniform!!!!

Too late to apologise

Swine flu.. a new type of flu said to be more dangerous than bird flu.

Isn't it hilarious ( or sad?) that whenever humans conquer one trouble, nature throws another one. It feels like a game between humans and nature, rather "nature khila raha hai insaan ko"... kinda when you play with a kid, when the child clears one hurdle, you set a level slightly tougher for him. Sometimes you let the child win, but you always know that the plot and rules are yours and whether the child will win or lose depends on whether you want him to win or lose. You conquered cholera, I'll give you different forms of cancer... Ok.. You have cure for TB... here play with AIDS.. ok what about this and that flu or hey have fun with lifestyle diseases and pollution related ones. You should never feel bored... I'll be there for you :)

We have reduced our immune system to a level that a person sneezing in Mexico scares us out. Some wise man once said "The fear of life is the favorite disease of the 20th century." ( William Lyon Phelps.. whoever he is :)). Was certainly wise to notice that. We are so scared of everything and everyone that we live half lives. But thats another story.

At the same time, those bloody virus have had ages of mutation to fight against all our antibiotics. They are spineless... literally and figuratively. I wonder that in the long run these brainless characters are going to win against man, who sits at the top of pyramid.

We forget that when the end comes, its going to be the end of humans not the end of nature or earth. It may be a temporary pause for nature, not the end. We will ruin everything and then die ourselves. And then from a tiny sprout somewhere, a tree will grow... somewhere a lost bird will sing again. But there wont be any human being ruining that.

The nature just watches man play with everything... his immune system, other species, his environment. Probably thinking how long it should let the kid play and then pack up the game.

And it really doesn't matter at all

Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a God.

Another blast in Delhi, one killed, 18 injured.... and many more to follow. My reaction, I just call up those I care for in Delhi , tell them about the blasts, ask them to stay in and watch the news. I wish that people who I know and I can't connect to are safe. I am not bothered too much about all those I don't know.

Its not that I am unsympathetic towards the blast victims. I am sure if I see someone or hear about someone I am going to feel sad. But other than that its just numbers. And numbers baffle me. X number of blasts in one Indian city. Y number of such cities. Z number of casualties in each of the blasts. After some time, its going to fade from my memory, precedence taken by some piece of crap. May be new MTV Roadies or may be office work or may be some good shopping offer. Yeah life moves on... It always does.

Have we accepted terror, violence ,death and injury as a part of life. Do we now think that insanity and irrationality will always be there. We just hope, wish or rather BELIEVE that its not gonna happen to us. That my near ones and I are always going to be lucky enough never to get caught in the chaos. And rest is all fine. Its fine as long as its not happening to you. Is it indifference, callousness, helplessness or inhumanity. I have seen some animal species gather and fight against a more powerful enemy to save each other. Yeah we ain't animals any more.

Its not that i can do anything about it. Its not that I can do anything about anything in general. I can just wish, hope and do the utterly trivial things. Things that are good, but of such small size that they do not matter. Its like clearing the way for an ant to carry sugar in the midst of riots or an approaching cyclone. Does saving power mean anything when we can't save lives. What difference does it make if city streets are clean or not, when the minds are not? But then... keep up the good work ;)

Its not so bad

I attended AID delhi meeting recently. If I think why I went there, probably the reason closest would be curiosity " I have never attended AID meeting" and just wanted to see what they do (if they happen to do anything!!!). I also wanted to see the faces behind all those mails coming in my mailbox. "Yeh kis type ke logon main itna time aur patience hota hai ki woh itna kaam bhi karein and usko website pe upload bhi karein... and earn their livelihood as well !!!" Well, so my primary reasons for being there were fulfilled :)

But the meeting did have side effects as well. I was surprised to see so many people from Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida, meeting at IITD at 10 (or nearly so) on a Sunday morning !!! There must be something behind this and the reason was self-evident in just a few moments... passion..All individuals passionately believing in and working for their cause, inspite of the difficulties that they faced. No project was easy, no location conventional and nobody thriving on external support. Yet... they made that happen... somehow.

The dedication that they had was amazing. Its not easy teaching slum kids, convincing their parents or working for women empowerment in a society that had difficulty relating the word women with power. All of them can have an easier life; a life oblivious to suffering of others. But they chose the road less travelled, the harder way and that made the difference. Certainly, there is a difference between a life without a purpose and a life dedicated to a cause and that I could notice there.

I liked the word "Gyanodaya" a lot. Probably the first step of gyanodaya is within you. Unless there is gyan or knowledge within, you can't enlighten others. I returned inspired for sure from there. If there are people like them working for India's development, probably the situation is not as gloomy as I thought it is. One positive change that it had on me is that my faith in humans as a race is restored. Thanks for that!!!!

Makes me wonder...

Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy of the universe always increases.

Entropy, a measure of chaos or disorder of a system will always increase, no matter what the process is.

I sometimes feel that the laws of physics are universal laws , laws which are applicable to society as well. That the disorder or chaos in the society will always increase.That the world is and will always go downhill no matter what you do.

In order to say that we have progressed, we need to define the parameters. Yes, per capita income has increased, so has the average life expectancy. Yes, we can communicate and move anywhere on the planet and claim to be living a more comfortable life. But does it also mean a more fulfilling life? Isn't it so that more people commit suicide then earlier.Inspite of having a great "connectivity" isn't it so that people know much less about people who were once close to them? There are more drug addicts than before. Is there some void in our lives that we try to fill with momentary pleasures?

Supposedly, with the growth in technology, moral growth should have also taken place. If the size of brain increased and so did his capabilty to think logically, why hasn't man realised a few basic facts for so long? Why is it so that still people do not take responsibilty of their actions. People give bribe to every person possible from policeman to passport agent and still wonder why is India amongst the most corrupt countries of the world. You litter on streets and blame the Govt. or the classic statement "Sab aisa hi karte hai" and still say "Cleanliness is next to Godliness".

Some people bear children without knowing whether they can nurture and take care of them, whether they have the time, energy and money to raise a kid. Some others pass on their values (or lack of them) to their children and others around them, who further add their own mess. Everybody takes away more from the society than what one can ever pay... And that is how the entropy increases!!!

Give me a reason

Its one of those days... well...those means those when I can't avoid thinking.

I have been wondering for some time now, what differentiates one person from another. Certainly, their intelligence, hard work, capabilities, attitude does. And being a great Ayn Rand fan, I do want to believe that you get to make your destiny... that you are not bound by circumstances... that except for what is within you, nothing else matters. But now I am forced to think if it is actually so?

I watched "Slumdog Millionaire" recently and saw the ground reality. Not that I was unaware totally, but somehow I could close my eyes... everytime. It hurt initially when I saw Mumbai slums, but two years of stay at M'bai and I could deal with it. I went to a poor area in Delhi (call it slum) recently and the cocoon that I had built around myself was shattered. There were kids running around, laughing, giggling, playing in mud.. unaware and careless. There were parents also laughing and giggling... unaware and careless, that they have kids somewhere. That there are humans struggling for scarce resources of planet.. food and compassion, humans who are here because they brought them to life, humans they should be accountable for... their kids. And yet no body cares.

I am sure that among these kids there would be hundreds who are far more intelligent and sharp than me and all of them are certainly much more hard working. Yet, I work in an air conditioned office while they beg on streets. Why? I don't think it can be solely due to attitude. Is it possible for someone who has 5 siblings, a drunkard father and hapless mother to see life as we see it? If you have always seen violence and cruelty as a way to resolve things, does there remain a way for you to see things otherwise? If you have never been told importance of education, can you just pick this up one fine day and get degrees? If you have to wonder whether you are getting the next meal or not, can you worry about books and pen? I guess not. Its just luck by chance. Where you are born decides quite a lot of things on earth.

We crib that the meal was not good, missed a movie, shoe of my size is not available. While there are kids there, who do not know if they are eating tonight or not. Or if they would be beaten again. Doesn't our cause of worry seem really trivial. But this is how life on earth is designed. Not fair. Not fair at all!!!

Across the universe

Again first things first. The post is my personal opinion. I do not intent to change any body's view on anything , religion, faith or preferences.

Imagine a scene some thousands (or may be hundreds) of years from now. Imagine an alien kid talking to his mom. Oops sorry imagine there are aliens and imagine they have parents and that they talk.

Kid: Mom!!!! Our teacher told that the homo sapiens specie on planet earth had the most paradoxical end. And that we don't yet know what happened. Please tell me more.

Mom: Ok kid. listen. There is a planet many million light years from here. It is called earth. Earth had lots of natural resources. Much greater than present on any of the planets known to us. It had several thousand species, all very different from each other, bound by a common thread that they needed the planet for their survival. For many years they lived in harmony. There was one specie that eventually became more intelligent than the rest. It was called Homo Sapiens or humans. It understood how it can use the resources to a more effective use. And he began using it. But, it was a mean, selfish, cruel specie. He began exploiting the planet and resources more than he should have. Several species of earth became extinct because he killed them.

Kid: Killed them ALL???? There are several thousand organisms of every specie. He killed them all?????

Mom: yeah kid. Thats what he did. He killed them all. But the story does not end there. He was not just cruel to other specie. He had a strange wiring in his system. Humans fought with themselves too. Humans were divided into many groups. He split himself over land on earth, he called that countries. He split himself into belief systems, he called it religion. He also split based on color of skin, based on race and based on sexual preferences. And he was intolerant to all who had a difference of opinion. Inspite of having everything on the planet, humans were never at peace within themselves. After being the supreme specie on earth for several thousand years, humans had created a hole in their protective air layer, called ozone. He was responsible for extinction of several species. He was responsible for some irrevocable changes to his environment, like the temperature of planet getting raised by several degrees. And he had developed some very powerful weapons, to be used on other humans. He was always insecure though he was the most powerful being on earth.

Kid: But mom how did such a strong and intelligent specie come to an end. Did some other specie kill them all, as they had killed others????

Mom: Oh no kid... No specie rose against them. Scientists have put several theories and they are studying to know what killed them.

May be he died because the planet's environment had changed drastically and he could not live there. And no near by planet was fit to be his habitat.

May be he just killed himself. They had a big war and all died. The losers during the war and the winners immediately after that. This war could have any reason. Humans were never short of reasons to fight. It could have been over natural resources or boundaries or religion or any other equally irrational reason.

But, there is another theory. It required one male and one female to ensure continuation of specie. May be they started by not wanting the pain and effort it takes to raise a kid. Females and males in the beginning wanted their life too much and wanted to enjoy it fully to spend it raising a kid. And also, males start liking males more and females started liking females more. So, they could not have a next generation. And finally they lost the ability to reproduce.

Kid: But mom!!!!

Mom: yeah kid... all species know what they need to ensure that they live. They know that they have to eat, drink, save themselves from predators and reproduce. Scientists still don't know what killed humans, they say they can find HOW human specie ended but they can never find WHY it did? They say that humans themselves did not understand themselves. If humans would have understood why they are doing what they did, it would have never become extinct in the first place.

Kid: Mom... Its so sad.

Mom: yeah kid. This is the greatest paradox. This was the most hilariously sad end of the most intelligent fool known.