primitive justice

primitive justice in humans

The general trend of life on earth is the survival of the fittest, through competition amongst living beings. I began to ponder about this when i happened to see a programme in the National Geographic Channel. It showed two  colts(young ones of a crane) inside a crane's nest. One colt was pecking and hitting the other. The other one must have been tired and exhausted, it remained at the receiving end and didn't counter-strike.Some time later, the parent crane came with food in its beak.The aggressive chick flapped its wings, got the attention of his parent and had all the food alone. The parent did nothing. It gave all the food to this chick and flew away. This is justice- the primitive justice, the justice of nature. We think we deserve a better justice than that, and so we make our own justice, and term it universal justice. But in fact, primitive justice frequently emerges through the facade of human justice, in human societies. It is very plain and straightforeward, but it strikes us cruel and harsh. The one who is more powerful wins, or in other words, the one who is better THAN THE OTHER is preferred. Probably, the other is doomed or forced to change its course. 

                 Ironically, it can be said that primitive justice, in its most savage form, is present in human communities. In no other living community is the one with lesser power so ruthlessly exploited or so brutishly executed or so violently humiliated or so abjectly crushed as in human community.  (Of course, there is an opposite side too.)  All those police and military atrocities against the weak and defenseless are also included in the examples of the serving of primitive justice. Those who believe in any other justice are in a make-believe world created by humanity. The structure that holds the humane justice stands only when all is well and smooth. When catastrophe arrives, this make-believe world falls apart. This phenomenon was visible in the Europe just after the Second World War.

                  Such is the world we live in; the losers have no consolation. That means, if you are a living being, it is your objective to acquire power,  to discover ways to be on top so that you are not crushed in the weight of the world. There are no excuses for being weak.

moderate vs extremist

Why should I be a Hindu partisan? I would rather like to support a secular organisation rather than be a religious fundamentalist.

  

Because you are a Hindu, it would be disgraceful if you do not  stand with Hindus.

If Hindus were to support a Hindu group and Muslims were to support Muslim group,  wouldn't that cause division between people and create polarisation? How can a polarised country be united? Moreover, the essence of Hinduism is its freedom and diversity. If  Hinduism was to function as an organised religion, wouldn't it be against the spirit of Hinduism itself?

Because of the peculiarities of certain religions(e.g. Muslim), they cannot go in harmony with other religions. They form a separate unit in the society.They are not taught to compromise with other religions. In India,if Hindus form a Hindu organisation, it is treated as ultraist and fascist; and Muslim organisations are given the tag of being secularist. Such is the pseudo-secularism that exists in our country.

Extremism of any religion is bad for the country. Saffronisation of the country is as dangerous as islamisation. This will not promote openness  among people. Man should essentially be free. Polarisation obstructs this free thought. Polarisation creates bias in our thoughts, however unintentional it may be. Forming religious groups, especially with political designs, leads to mistrust, suspicion and fear in the opposite community. Consider this situation: If a person from one community is beaten up by another person from another community, the general feeling of the people is that they should take revenge upon the other group; they  want not just the culprits to be punished,  but they want the entire community to be persecuted. Instilling such a mindset in young minds is not an advisable way of human development.

The general trend of Muslims all the world over is to congregate together, and if they are powerful, they dominate the  social activities in the area. In many customs and beliefs, Hinduism is just the opposite of Islam.Considering many countries where Islam is a minority religion,the support India gives to Islam is noteworthy. There has been a growth in the percentage of population of Muslims in India since Independence. In 1951, Muslims constituted about 9.9% of the total population; but now it has risen to 14.4. But take the case of Pakistan, where Islam is the ruling religion. In 1951, Hindus constituted about 22% of Pakistan's population. But now it has come down to a mere 1.2%. This shows the need for Hindus to stand together. In case of any attack against Hinduism,Hindus will have to defend by organising themselves to protect their beliefs and way of life. Why does an ideal country build and maintain an army? Not because they want to attack and conquer others,but they need to defend themselves from foreign domination and to assert themselves in the international community. Same is true with Hindus.

When did this Hindu spirit originate? Before the coming of  outsiders, there was no religion called Hinduism. None of the sacred texts of Hindus says about a religion called Hindu religion. And later, when it was recognized as a religion it was plagued with malpractices and evils like caste system and Sati. later various reform movements and outside influences brought the Hindu religion to the present state. It can be argued that Hinduism felt the need to reform when other religions and British rule seemed to threaten them. No civilisation can be destroyed from outside, but from within itself. History has proved it again and again. So there is no point in making Hindu extremist organisations to protect the religion; its protection lies power of its content; its own depth of thought or belief. The Hindu organisations that claim to protect and preserve 'Hindutwa' have nothing but political and other motives. Moreover, the era of religions must come to an end, because the destructive effect of religions felt in the current scheme of the world is more than the constructive effects they claim to have. Man ought to become more global in his outlook, wider in his perspective. The attack on Hinduism is similar to attack on any individual or organisation, it must dealt with like any criminal case with good and strong governance. The motive of forming religious organisations may seem justifiable, but more often than not, they usually end up in creating undesirable results. 

This is not a practical solution at all. The wider outlook and pacifism sounds very pleasing to the ears, but this is just a Utopian ideal. If someone comes to hit you in your house, you will not talk philosophy to that guy. You will have to attack him. It is a natural reaction among living beings. 
(cont.d)

INDIA IN ELITE CLUB 

On January 6 2014, ISRO's GSLV-D5, powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine, put GSAT 14 into orbit. By doing so, India powered itself into the elite club of U.S, Russia and France. Presently, cryogenic countries are U.S, Russia, France, Japan, China and India.
Both U.S and Russia had refused to give the technology to India. The successful operation of cryogenic technology has enabled India to defy the bossy attitude of U.S and other hot-shot countries. Way to go India and ISRO! This is just an entry into the scene. India is beginning to make its presence felt in the global arena.

cat

the cat is coming

end of an era

What is special about Sachin? He was of course a great cricket player. But there are other great players too. What separates Sachin from them? 
About five years earlier, I couldn't imagine an Indian team without Sachin. I couldn't believe that he could retire from cricket. An aura enveloped the ground when he came in to bat. When he got out, we turned off the TV. Whenever I saw the letters MRF, I remembered him. The name Sachin caused a burst of energy to run through my body. Ironically, the game of the the English instigated patriotism in many Indians and Sachin Tendulkar played pivotal role in the process. Every young boy idealized Sachin. Sachin was not a mere man for them. He was a symbol. For every boy , Sachin was himself. Or in him, he could see a future Sachin. If sporting capabilities only are taken into consideration, Sachin cant be called the greatest. But he was at the right place at the right time. He came at the time when the whole of India was searching for a national sporting hero. At once, he captured the imagination of a whole population. There was an Indian whom Indians could be proud of. He embodied the spirit of India- he was humble and yet bold, austere yet destructive, meek yet domineering. Never did a nasty word or a deed come from him; not from Sachin. He was as dedicated as a saint. This saintliness separates Sachin from other great players. Wherever he went, he kept his dignity intact. During his span of 24 years as a cricketer, he never for once got into bar brawl or came in news for licentious behaviour. When the match-fixing issue rocked Indian cricket, he  kept the faith of millions of fans. He never appeared in ads promoting alcoholic drinks. He probably knew the impact he had on kids. The country closely followed its icon through the years, his every dip in form, his injuries, his comeback: everything was subjected to precise analysis and argument. The whole country lamented at his every cheap dismissal and every house-hold passed through nervous moments once he crossed the nineties. His decision to retire came as a surprise to many, as a shock to many. But anyway,the timing was perfect. I doubt if such a farewell had been given to any sporting icon in any sport, let alone in cricket. 
Now is the age of ruthless cricket. The image of cricket as a gentleman's game is fast fading. The past generation cricketers are finding it hard to cope with the changing trend in cricket. Sachin epitomized the cricketing culture of his age. The age had fierce competition, but the players respected each other. Team members had deep mutual understanding. Playing for the country was their primary aim. Now-a-days, money rules cricket. Talent is of course more now, but talent is never polished and perfected; talent nowadays is not long lasting. By comparing Sachin and Virat Kohli, we can understand the difference between the two cultures. Virat is a very promising player. The record of Kohli now and the record of Sachin at Kohli's age reveals the class of Kohli. But Virat cannot possibly attain the stature of Sachin. 
By the retirement of Sachin, an era has come to an end. He is now a legend. As time passes, it gets bigger and bigger. A fifty years hence, we would be proudly saying to the coming generation that we lived in a time when Sachin played. He is a part of the country's psyche. I now remember the moments in my memories which was glorified the little great man and say from the bottom of my heart: Thank you Sachin!

a dilemma

Fear is one of the strongest emotions of people. Everybody has fear, I guess. Handling fear is one of the key skills in attaining success. So what is fear? It is generally explained an unpleasant emotion which is caused when one is threatened with danger, harm or pain. But this is a very straight-foreward and plain explanation. Emotions in humans often involves many dimensions because of the depth of human mind. The emotions often criss-cross each other, and sometimes the same experience can arouse conflicting emotions like joy and sorrow at the same time. Aristotle exhorted that an ideal tragedy must aim at generating catharsis, i.e. it must cleanse the mind of the spectator by arousing in him the emotions of pity and fear and thereby causing a purgation by the proper mixing of these emotions. This indicates that fear is a defining factor in the development of one's personality. As babies, we don't know what to fear. As children, we are taught what to fear by society and experiences. But we instinctively fear certain things like sudden loud noise, darkness, etc. As children grow into men, the object of their fear may change from one thing to another. 
People fear everything: death, cockroaches, insects, closed spaces, darkness, light, strangers, women, men,  failure, success, praise, criticism, fame, separation and what not. 


This fear takes many forms, sometimes very subtle. Fear of losing something by an action you do- for example, you like something very much, but you restrain from doing it because of moral pressure. Some of your dear ones want you to behave in a certain way. You behave like they say because you don't want to lose their love and want to stay with them. You once believed in their faith, but now it is no longer strong. Now a tug of war begins- between your likes and your loyalty to them. I believe you should have courage to put forward your views without hurting them. This is also a question of fear. You have the fear of losing their warmth. But other things have to be considered in this case too. You feel the pressure not because they coerce their views upon you, but you love them so much, and its you who actually force yourself, and put you in a dilemma. Clarity of thought is very important in such situations, which is actually very difficult once you enter into such a position. Such a position can be morally very testing and tiring, believe me. You have to compromise between two parts of yourself before it tears you apart.

my amateur flash work