NOT CRICKET!

Many of the expressions in the English language are either nautical (that’s how they ruled greater part of the world) or based on the game they invented in the 16th century: cricket. The expression “not cricket” is popularly used to denote: not fair, honest or moral, and in bad, poor, or worst possible taste.

After its inception in 2007, my curiosity got the better of me and I started watching Indian Premier League 2024 matches. Soon, “not cricket” is the expression that came to my mind.

Michael Holding, the former West Indian cricketer and commentator was asked as to why he chose not to commentate on T20 matches. His response was: “I commentate only on cricket.”

During our era, in a 1964 match against England, Indian all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni bowled a record twenty-one consecutive maiden overs. In today’s game standards, it means that a complete T20 innings would have gotten over without scoring a run. Cut to today, here is a commentary on a bowler: “A very tight over from him; he has just given away only seven runs in this over.”

I also recall that in a test match against the mighty West Indies (I think it was in Dec 1966 in Bombay), Bapu Nadkarni hit a sixer. An excited fan, listening to the commentary on his radio, broke his transistor-radio in excitement. We lost the match thanks to a 400 plus first first innings total by the WI. However, that sixer (a rarity those days) glorified our resistance against the best cricketers in the world. In contrast, the IPL T20 matches are so heavily tilted in favour of the batters that, recently (on 27 Apr 24), in Eden Gardens, in a match between KKR and PBKS, 42 sixes were scored (252 runs in just sixes!) A total of 532 runs were scored in the match; nearly half being in sixes.

Such sixes and fours are because of pitches being especially made batter friendly and the reduced boundaries in length. It has to be a spectacle or a tamasha that wins the moolah for BCCI, the richest cricket club in the world. It is not all; watching the IPL T20 matches over TV has been made into a punishment for the viewers by making them watch advertisements over and over. I can visualise, for example, a man telling us to convert his credit card into CRED UPI, “Please, please, please, please………..please a thousand times, convert your credit card to CRED UPI. It will earn us crores of rupees and may also get you discounts ranging from one to five percent. We are prepared to run this ad for you, the Guantanamo way, of playing it over and over again even in your sleep. Just don’t forget CRED UPI.”

Here is the truth about these ads versus watchability of IPL: with the repeated ads and strategic times-out, we run an over, on an average, in 5 minutes; ie, 50 seconds a ball. As it is, there are only a handful of countries in the world who play cricket. Doesn’t BCCI have any responsibility towards promoting this game, the only game that we actually excel in? How can anyone be interested in watching this game @ 50 seconds a ball? Does money mean everything to BCCI?

One of the most popular ads is that of Kamla Pasand Elaichi, a proxy ad for the unhealthy Pan Masala. Who are the cricketers who have succumbed to the lure for money to these ads for unhealthy products? Well, hold your breath, our cricketing role models: Virendra Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and Chris Gayle. What a fall!

Has the IPL tamasha really made us into better players world wide? Aha, we won the ICC T20 World Cup only once in 2007, the inaugural one in South Africa when we bowled out Pakistan for 152 runs in 19.4 overs and won by 5 runs. In 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, the seventh one since its inception in 2007, the highest number of runs, 345 that is, were scored between Australia and New Zealand. Australia made 173/2 in 18.5 overs and won. The team playing second won the cup a total of seven times out of eight. In IPL T20 2004 edition, ever since 27 Mar, when in a match between SRH and MI, more than 500 runs were scored, it has happened four times. Surely, our performance in IPL and the rampant run fest indulged in by our players don’t appear to be helping our abilities and potential in winning the world cup.

In democracies people pay for everything: armies, roads, railways, education, and entertainment. BCCI doesn’t become the richest cricket club in the world without people paying for it, whether in the stadia or on the net. I don’t suppose that BCCI can ascribe credit to itself for befooling all the people all the times. It is only a matter of time before people, at large, realise that IPL T20 tamasha isn’t cricket.

I recall my visit to Spain and curiosity to see a bull-fight. There appeared to be so much of bravado involved in killing a bull in a bull fight until I learnt that what appeared to be sport is primarily a play in three parts (tercios): Tercio de Varas, Tercio de Banderillas, and Tercio de Muerte. In the first two acts, with the help of picadors and banderillas, the bull is sufficiently weakened so that in the final act, an accomplished estocada (swordsman) gives the bull a clean and quick death by thrusting a sword into the already weakened hump in the shoulder. I was among the large percentage of people around the world who see the cruelty of the bull fight only once.

I wonder how many more of IPL T20 matches I shall see before the bull is finally killed?

CONSCIENCE, SIN, GUILT, AND OPTIMISM

It is that time of the year when I look within and reflect. It is not a sudden urge. It is, generally, part of a longer – many a times as long as the whole year – tête-à-tête with my self. So far in past attempts, I have disentangled confusion, seen and given vent to clarity. Please wish me luck with this, too.

History of the World, Mankind, and Time

The world is about 4.5 billion years old. On a cosmic calendar, it is not considered very old. Humanity is even younger: just about 300,000 years old. That brings us to the question: How old is the concept of time? Guess what? It was just about 6000 years ago when we, somewhat erroneously, started measuring time through moon. The lunar calendars, the first conscious attempts at conceptualising time, can be traced back to just about 6000 years ago. The year was made of anything between 354 to 384 days. We used to refer to the past as “many moons gone by” and look at the future as “many moons away.” Even after the Christian Calendar was invented, based on the rotation of the earth around its axis, and elliptical orbit of the earth around the sun, the fascination with time measurement through the moon still continued. Please reflect that as late as just 66 years ago, a Hindi song had this line: Chand phir nikla magar tum na aaye (The (full or new) moon was seen again, and yet you didn’t visit me).

Initially, the world was anarchic. What we now term as the Laws of Nature or even Laws of God must have existed but, we were blissfully unaware of these. We did everything without a reference to the past – either of the humanity or of our own. Indeed, the concept of past itself didn’t exist. We lived perpetually in the present. As seen by our present progress in the evolution and despite all our discoveries and inventions that have made the world better, at that point in the History of Mankind, we were the happiest though, as is the case with happiness even now, we didn’t know about it.

Yes, when we discovered Sin, we tried to apply it to the beginning of Mankind itself. However, a reasonable person would know that let alone the Concept of Sin, not even the Concept of Time and hence Past existed. Hence, the story of Adam and Eve having been expelled from Heaven due to their eating the forbidden fruit (of knowledge of good and evil), must be the product of the Man’s imagination when he understood Time and related it to his Past. There couldn’t have been any sin committed by them because Sin, related to actions in the Past, just didn’t exist when Humanity started on earth.

Laws of Nature, God, and Society

The universe that we know about and the universes that we still don’t know about were also born out of total anarchy (after the Big Bang). Gradually, many – if not most – celestial objects fell into known patterns based on these laws. Indeed, many of these patterns made us discover the laws.

Even as the Laws of the Universe, Nature, and God were discovered by us, we also made laws of the society and civilization that we are part of. As we gradually shifted from being wanderers (nomads) to living in communities and societies, we made laws to protect the bigger interests of the society.

Just as in our understanding of the Cosmic Laws, we weren’t always right in many of the laws that we made for the society and civilizations. We changed these – in some cases even drastically – when we understood better. So, please do remember that many laws are not permanent; we follow these until a newer one is discovered or made better suited for us, the world, and the universe.

That brings us to our Concept of Right and Wrong. Our history would tell us that this thought we would want our children to know about early has been quite fuzzy, to say the least. The Right and Wrong kept changing so much so that now, in our own present, we can somewhat correctly conclude that what is Right is Right for a a major part of the society at the present time. It wasn’t Right before and it may not be Right in the future. The same is the case with Wrong.

At another time in the history of mankind we can make a Right or Wrong stand on its head. It is just relative and true for a particular period of Time.

Knowledge, Mind, and Reasoning

As the World and Life on it evolved, the most powerful Life on Earth at the present period of Time is Mankind. It has taken tens of thousands of years for it to evolve to the present level.

First, let me merely repeat what I wrote in ‘The Most Important Relations and Relationships’:

“I find Human Evolution as a very fascinating subject. Humans or homo sapiens, as we see them around now, at some point of history of primates, separated themselves from the apes (hominids). Genetic studies bring out that the history of primates is older than 85 million years ago. There have been many theories (in the absence of recorded history we have either theories or gospel (word of mouth)) regarding the Evolution of Man, the foremost or the most accepted being the Darwinian theory. All these theories explore only the anatomical aspects; for example, the origin of man standing and walking on two feet and legs (bipedalism). Nothing has yet brought out the evolution of emotions and relationships, except in gospel. And that is the aspect that fascinates me most. For example, who was the first man or woman to fall in love? Or was it at the great ape stage or even earlier? When, how and why did the first man get angry and who triggered those emotions in him?”

However, it is reasonable to assume that the same DNA and its mutations that made varieties of Life possible on Earth, also made it possible for the Mankind to have Knowledge, Mind and Reasoning.

Indeed, all Civilizational Knowledge is written in our DNA very carefully from generation to generation. Thus, the present Mind of Man has evolved over generations to its present form.

As you look at Life on Earth millions of years ago you realise that the mutations of DNA that survived the best are those that were best suited for a particular environment during a particular period of Time. As with anatomical mutations, in the recent History of Mankind, one realises that the Human Mind has become more and more powerful simply by Powers of Reasoning. One can confidently argue that now, as compared to anytime in the History of Mankind, Reasoning has helped the Mankind more than the lack of it; both to survive and make a better and securer life.

In this evolution of the Reasoning Mind, it is easy to conclude that unless outdated concepts such as Community Religion (“Do this and don’t do that”) based on blind faith are in sync with the Reasoning Mind, these would become extinct some time in future. How much time would it take depends upon the tenacity of blind faith. Lets not forget that the Reasoning of Copernican Heliocentrism about the Earth revolving around the Sun, until it took centuries to prevail and be regarded as common knowledge today, was held to be inferior (blasphemous) to the Community Religion’s blind faith that Earth was the Abode of Gods and hence, everything in the Universe revolved around it.

Conscience, Sin, And Guilt

The Reasonable Mind and The Concept of Right and Wrong evolved almost simultaneously in the History of Mankind. Just as we did with Religion, we also did with Morality. Certain things became Right and Moral to do whilst others became Wrong and Immoral.

Our Reasonable Mind also made us realise that some force or power must be controlling our Mind. Else, how would we be able to control this Reasoning? In our Evolution, Conscience evolved: “a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual’s moral philosophy or value system.” We willfully made our Reasonable Mind slave to this cognitive process called Conscience; controlled the mind, so as to say.

Sin is merely a Religion’s way of telling us that all our transgressions against the Law of Nature or Law of God (Divine Law) are immoral. Whenever we did these, it made us full of Guilt.

The process of Evolution as observed by Man made Man realise that just like only those mutations of DNA survived that were adaptable to the environment and multiplied in larger numbers than the weaker mutations, Religious ideas would survive if these had the largest followers. Adding to the numbers of the like minded, therefore, ensured the survival of the idea of that particular religion; evangelical indeed.

However, in the Evolution of Mankind, there would still be large numbers of people who would drift away from the original idea just as those who became followers of a particular religion drifted away from beliefs held by them before the advent of that religion.

Religion, therefore, invented the idea of Fear. Idea of Fear already existed in the Physical World: we feared wild animals, floods, fires, and other disasters. Religion merely adapted the Concept of Fear to Guilt and Consequences of not following the Divine Laws.

Heaven, Hell, and Fear

Religion discovered that one of the easiest ways to keep its flock through Fear of Consequences is by creating the Concept of Heaven and Hell. Heaven is for those who follow the Divine Laws and the fires of Hell are for those who willfully deviate from these laws.

It was a flawed concept, but, it controlled large chunks of the Humanity for at least 2000 years.

Why do I call it flawed concept? Simply because we know that there is nothing like Free Will. As Swami Vivekananda said we have to go beyond the confines of the universe to exercise Free Will. So, to conclude that Hell is for those who willfully deviate from the Divine Laws is not in sync with the limitations of the Man. We still do many acts without deliberately thinking about them or their consequences. “Forgive them, O God, for they know not what they are doing” as reportedly uttered by Jesus on the Cross didn’t have a smaller meaning about the limitation of His Roman persecutors but a larger meaning of the Limitation of Mankind.

Various thinkers (they are the ones who change the world), therefore, concluded that Sin and Guilt are not exclusive acts of omission and commission by a particular man. But, since we are all related, people around us have all contributed to that Sin. The Indian Government is in the process of changing laws for Mob Crimes (as I told you, laws are always changing). Similarly, for Sin, shouldn’t we be sending many, many people to Hell rather than the one visible man whom our senses perceived to have committed that sin? How do we know what was written on his DNA when he was born? How do we know about collective Conscience of generations rather than just our own exclusive Conscience? In the ultimate analysis, we know not what we are doing; it is beyond us.

Optimism

Yes, the essentially flawed concepts of Sin and Guilt kept going for hundreds of years. Our Societal Laws, themselves, have been based on these Divine Laws (In God We Trust, so as to say). God, and Guardians of Laws on Earth would punish us for our acts of commission and omission. More than the physical punishment, our Conscience and Guilt would punish us; the degree of this (self-inflicted) punishment would vary from close to zero (for the non-thinking Man) to close to hundred (for the thinking Man). As Kahlil Gibran said, “A thinking man can never be happy.”

And now the flaws in the Concept of Sin and Guilt add up even more. The World and Mankind is progressing because of the Reasoning Mind of Man. However, the Reasoning Mind is the unhappiest, and many a times the only unhappy one, because of Conscience, Sin, and Guilt. This is not a good Evolution. It was required to keep us following the straight line in an anarchic world. But, it is sure to become outdated over a period of time, say, in another five hundred years. We can’t continue to control the world and society through a negative of Sin and Guilt. A time has to come in the Evolution of Man when we control the Society more through the positive of Love than through the negatives of Sin and Guilt.

Wishful thinking? No, I have, in the last few decades, seen this change. Religion itself is perceptibly shifting its focus from Sin, Guilt and Fear of Consequences to “God loves us unconditionally.” This is in reaction to the dwindling congregations in the churches around the world and, hence, the survival instinct of the church.

My early thought process was influenced by many authors and playwrights. One of them was the American author and playwright William Saroyan. In the preface to his celebrated play The Time Of Your Life, he wrote:

“In the time of your life, live so that there would be no death or ugliness for yourself of for any life that your life touches. Be the inferior of no man nor of any man be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself; no man’s guilt is not yours nor of any man’s innocence a thing apart. In the time of your life, live and let others live. But, if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill and have no regrets.”

Our Lord Krishna taught us this eons ago.

EK MODI KYA KAREGA?

मरने को जी करता था मगर,
करोना आया है चीन से।
हम सारे ही इंडियन हैं अगर,
क्यूं मरेंगे जो उठा उनकी ज़मीन से?

कई बिमारियों में रहें हैं नंबर वन,
उनसे इसमें हम न मात खाएंगे।
जब भी मरने को करेगा मन,
अपनी देसी बिमारियों से मर जाएंगे।

हमारे यहां कई तरीके हैं मरने को,
गर बिमारी अपना जलवा ना दिखाए।
जैसे ड्राइविंग में हम हैं मर मिटने को,
सड़क पे गाड़ी लेके जो हम उतर आए।

गंदगी फैला के हम यहां तहां,
देश की तबाही को करते हैं पक्का।
कतार में खड़ते हैं हम जहां,
आम तौर पे दे मारते हैं धक्का।

सैकड़ों मर जाते हैं भगदड़ में,
ताकि वह निकल जाएं सबसे आगे।
बहारें बदल जाती हैं पतझड़ में,
पर खुद गर्जी से हमें शर्म ना लागे।

आयिए आज कर्फ्यू में सोचें ज़रा,
भारत है तो हम भी हैं,
हम नहीं मरे और दूजा जो मरा,
उसका हम सबको गम भी है।

मोदी अकेला क्या करेगा,
हम सबको उसका देना है साथ;
ना करोना से ना देसी बिमारी से कोई मरेगा,
ना खुद गर्जी में हमारा होगा हाथ।

HAM KUCHH KAREN YA SIRF SARKAR KAREGI?

सांस सांस को तरसते हैं जो रहते हैं दिल्ली राजधानी,
इस दहशत में नहीं हैं शामिल जेहादी या पाकिस्तानी।

हम अपने ही दुश्मन हैं और सदियों से रहे हैं,
मुगलों की हमने परख करके पृथ्वीराज को याद दिलाई नानी।

गाड़ियां हम इस तरह चलाते हैं, रोज़ सैकड़ों मरते हैं,
हर जगह करते हैं निधड़क अपनी ही मनमानी।

एक नेता सारा भारत स्वच्छ क्यूं नहीं कर सकता?
हमने तो कचरा हर जगह फैंकने की है पूरी ठानी।

साफ़ और तंदरुस्त ज़िन्दगी के लिए गैर मुल्की देश जाते हैं,
मगरुर हो के यह कहते हैं फिर भी दिल है हिंदुस्तानी।

रफ्ता रफ्ता सारे शहर हमारे रहने के लायक नहीं रहे,
गीत बनाते हैं यह गैर मुल्कों की है शैतानी।

तहजीब से हम सब मिल के इतराते हैं,
हिन्दुस्तान आज़ाद है और हम सब हैं हिन्दुस्तानी।

सारे जहां से अच्छा हम बनना चाहते थे,
कहां गलत हम हो गए यह है मुल्क की पशेमानी।

अभी भी कुछ नहीं बिगड़ा, थोड़ा सा नज़म ओ ज़ब्त लाइए,
नहीं तो कहां हम पहुंचे हैं, कुछ तो हो हैरानी।

जिस मुल्क में सांस लेना ही मुश्किल हो गया हो,
किस किस को सुनाएंगे उस मुल्क की परेशानी?

शुभ प्रभात।

“Hunooz Dilli door ast” – thank God!

JEETE JI MILIYE

जीते जी मिलते रहिए दोस्तों और रिश्तेदारों को,
क्या फायदा होगा मरने के बाद मिलें अपने प्यारों को?

मातम पे आपके जाने से तो वह देख भी न पाएंगे,
क्यूं न मिलें उन्हें डूबने से पहले उनके सितारों को?

बहुत अरसा हो गया पर आपको वक़्त ही नहीं मिला,
कौन अब भरेगा गहरी होती उन दरारों को?

ठीक है नई जगह पर नए दोस्त आपके बन गए,
हैरत है दिल न किया आपका मिलने को पुराने यारों को।

मां बाप, बड़े बूढ़े, गज़ब के इन्सान थे जब थे जवान,
कौन जाने अब देखे ऐसे कमज़ोर बीमारों को?

खिज़ा के सूखे पत्ते आपके चमन में भी बिखरेंगे कभी,
उनको तगाफुल न करें सीने लगा चंद दिन की बहारों को।

आपके प्यार के और वक़्त के हकदार हैं यह सब,
कदमों तले ख़ाक न होने दीजिए हकदारों को।

एक वक़्त था जब आपके सहारे थे यह सभी,
वक़्त से पहले न जाने दीजिए इन सहारों को।

किस्मत के मारे एक दिन गर आप बने तो क्या होगा,
नीचा न दिखाइए कभी आज के किस्मत के मारों को।

शुभ प्रभात।

WHAT CAN WE DO WITH FORWARDS?

Guess what? Two weeks after the Cholesterol joke and cartoon, there will still be guys who have got it the first time. Somewhat similar to boys and girls who figure out how to masturbate, the guys who got it ‘the first time’ are excited and want to share with their friends not knowing that the guys are up to their necks with Chole and Sterol having the wrong spellings for Bhature.

What exactly is a Forward? Anything and everything that you or someone shares from the net, which is not your own writing, is a Forward. Such Forwards include nearly 100 percent of all Good Morning messages, jokes, cartoons, poems, songs, and even opinions such as political.

Knowing the kind of damage that these are doing to our society (dumbing down as never before) I wrote two essays:

One was called ‘Are ‘Forwards’ Backward?‘ and the other was ‘Confessions Of A New Age Intellectual‘.

We know about the dumbing down. We know about the enormous damage. But, as brought out in the essays, we find it very convenient to push the Forwards further. Indeed, some even take credit for having found them in the first place and hence being worthy of comment and appreciation. There is a sizable number of people who justify pushing Forwards through one argument or the other; eg, “These are harmless and easy way to start the day rather than having to go through other people’s Gyan (translated it means Knowledge but what we intend is Bullshit) early in the mornings.”

Forwards are also meant for people who are in a hurry (Fast Food types) and who just don’t have time for reading anything original. These are more than ninety percent of all people. WhatsApp, for them, is a quick way to socially connect and they don’t want to waste their time on reflection before commenting.

So then, we can conclude that the popularity and lure of Forwards are unlikely to die down. If hundreds of years after the advent of religion, people haven’t reflected upon whether it is still meaningful and sensible, they are unlikely to be swayed by arguments against WhatsApp Forwards. And currently, these Forwards are more attractive than Sermons on the Mount.

Therefore, we can at least have some rules about Forwards and that’s why this essay. Here are they:

1. Verify the Facts before Pushing Forwards. Even though you are hard-pressed for time (it is another thing that you are almost perpetually on WhatsApp) you would find that verifying facts is always a revelation. For example, I came across a post about a popular song of the lyricist Shailendra that was claimed to have been used in a movie much earlier than it was known to us. On the second round of it being pushed, I merely rang up Dinesh, Shailendra’s son, and came to know that this post was a hoax. Take the recent case of Prime Minister Modi collecting garbage from a beach in Mamallapuram whereat he was to have an informal summit with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. People were impressed with the sincerity of the gentleman towards Swachh Bharat until three days later there were the following pictures pushed by the other party:

These pics were accompanied by a message that the PM was grandstanding for the mediawhereas the beach was already combed for garbage much earlier. Now the entire lot was swayed in the opposite direction until it was revealed by India Today that Karti Chidambaram had cleverly used the unrelated pictures above to show Modi down(Please read: ‘Fact Check: Karti Chidambaram posts unrelated image from Scotland with plogging pics of PM Modi‘). But, Karti Chidambaram must have convinced people – at least those who are die-hard fans of the Congress – that Modi is a fraud. There is, therefore, always a need to check the veracity of the facts enumerated in the Forwards. It doesn’t take too much time.

2. Caption the Videos being Forwarded. Nothing takes as much space in cellphone memory and as much of people’s time as plodding through videos only to find that either these weren’t worth seeing or, worse, you had already seen and downloaded these earlier. When you press down on the video and use the right arrow to Forward it, you have to now select up to five individuals or groups to forward it to. After you have selected these and press the Send arrow, it would go without any caption from you. However, if you Forward it from your Gallery, after selecting the people that you want it to be sent to and before you press the Send arrow, you have a choice to ‘Add a caption…’. At this juncture, you have the public duty to tell your recipients as to what this video is all about. About an year ago, I stopped looking at all videos without captions and I never forward videos without an introduction from me. Hence, if I am one of the recipients, it is even more important that you caption it. If you write an introduction about the video just before sending the video, that would suffice too.

3. Always Date Tag the Forwards and Check If A Forward is Still Current. Many posts are date and time dependent. These are not current for all times to come simply because you can push these at a date and time of your convenience. As an example, two days ago (12th Oct 2019), someone shared a post with the title: ‘Today is Mirza Ghalib’s 220th birthday. Lovely lines from Mirza Ghalib…’. This anniversary was on 27 Dec 2017 and naturally this post was considered current for nearly two years after the anniversary.

4. Reflect Before You Opine. You feel that there is an urgency to comment on a Forward lest you should miss the opportunity later. Your excuse is: “After all, I get thousands of posts everyday and I can’t be expected to reflect on issues.” This is exactly the mindset that makes the society dumbed down. Don’t post off-the-cuff remarks and something you only feel strongly about without knowing facts. Satisfy that you are adding value to the post and not just letting people know how astute you are. As an example, if someone has forwarded a post about some new facts that have surfaced about Einstein’s Relativity of Time Theory, your this comment is adding no value to it: “Ah, I just love Einstein. He was great. There was a time when I couldn’t sleep without reading a chapter of Relativity of Time. I would still read it if I could get a little more time. But, you know how times change.”

5. Don’t Comment on the Thumbnail Only but Read the Article and Comment. When we were in Staff College, we were required to write Book Reviews of nominated books and then present these in the Syndicate. One of the officers – call him Cdr A – presented a book review and it sounded great. Well, until, during questioning, the Syndicate DS brought out that he had merely copied the back cover of the book and hadn’t read the book at all. What was true for Cdr A is true for a large percentage of readers on Social Media. They comment on the thumbnail of the article without reading it at all.

6. Write Something of Your Own at Least Once in a While. Yes, with the Forwards you are winning a lot of popularity, eg, “Your Good Morning messages are really very beautiful.” However, do think if you ever wrote something of your own. Let me give you an example. There was a time when in the Navy we used to present in-house talent during the Navy Week Balls or for that matter even during stage-plays and cultural programmes. Nowadays, a lot of sponsored money is spent on hiring artistes from here and there including from the Hindi films industry (I don’t like the bastardized word: Bollywood). A lot of other people and I still long to have the sense of belonging by presenting or seeing in-house shows. Your Forwards have as little sense of belonging as those sponsored programmes.

That’s it from me, then. I am sure if we follow these simple rules, something can still be salvaged from Forwards.

GOOD MORNING MESSAGE #290

God is Love and….

Good morning friends,

We know God is without an end,
But for Love too it is true.
You can’t easily comprehend,
What God can, Love can also do
Love is God’s another name,
Both do and feel the same.

We also know God is omnipotent,
It is nothing less than significant,
That both have the same source?
Whilst God occupies the highest place,
Love shares with Him the same space.

In life if you have loved never,
You’ve never experienced God,
Both are truly with us forever,
Their trueness we can applaud.
“God, your Love I can always feel,
Like you, Love can always heal.”

….Love is God.

SOMEBODY ELSE’S WAR!

“War is a terrible business” said Herman Wouk in his celebrated work ‘The Caine Mutiny’, “In which people get killed and you’re damn glad you ain’t one of them.”

Listening to the Indian public debate after the incidents in the aftermath of Pulwama attacks, it would appear that despite our jingoism and consequent lion-hearted pronouncements, we’re damn glad we ain’t one of those who have to take action and decisions and risk their lives to protect the sovereignty and security of India, that is, Bharat.

Pakistan, having lost all wars against India, discovered that there is one tool that it has that not just brings India to its knees but successfully deters India from the military option to protect its interests. That tool is the tool of terrorism.

Lets first understand as to what do we require armed forces for. In the modern world, the primary task of the armed forces is to deter war by putting the fear of consequences in the enemy’s psyche. In our case we spend about two percent of our GDP every year to keep one of the largest armed forces in the world to drive this fear in the hearts and minds of the Pakistanis and the Chinese. Why do we require this deterrence? Simple, because its failure would interfere with our economic growth that would ensure planned good and secure life for our people.

Has this deterrence worked? It has worked largely with China. One of the reasons is that China itself has the desire to deter war for its own growth. Additionally, as far as conventional war is concerned, it has worked with Pakistan too. But, then, Pakistan, tasted success in bringing a superpower (Russia) to its heels in Afghanistan through war by other means (Please read the book: ‘Afghanistan the Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower’ by Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin. Mohammad Yousaf was the Pakistani Brigadier General who masterminded the equipping and training of the Afghan mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviets in the 1980s. Mark Adkin was a Major in the British Army who polished the writing (memoirs) of the Pak Brigadier General. At that time, the United States, Britain and other allies were on the side of the mujahideen (terrorists engaged in proxy war). Incidentally, a free download of this book is available on the net.

The Mujahideen War in Afghanistan lasted from Dec 1979 to Feb 1989 with covert and not so covert support by the United States, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

As soon as its Western border was secured through the success of its proxy war, Pakistan turned to its Eastern neighbour India to apply the same formula to it. And that’s the beginning of the proxy war in Kashmir that we have faced for the last thirty years. The Western powers largely were unconcerned about the cross-border terrorism that India faced from Pakistan until the genie that they had helped unleash in Afghanistan turned to them (somewhat similar to how Indira Gandhi provided tacit support to splinter groups to weaken the Akalis in Punjab and they turned against her only and eventually killed her). After twelve years of Indians facing the brunt of proxy war alone, on 11th Sep 2001, the Americans themselves became the target of proxy war emanating from Al Qaeda (at that time in Afghanistan).

The United States had tough time telling its ex students in Afghanistan and Pakistan that the lessons of Bear Trap were not to be applied to the teacher itself. That was the beginning of the GWOT or the Global War on Terror. As was to be expected from the events (that I have given you a brief on) Pakistan became the hub of Global Terrorism. Terrorists became its strategic assets to bring the next superpower, India, to its heels by the honed and successful policy of “bleed by a thousand cuts.”

This means that as far as Indian security forces are concerned they have been fighting this war for the last thirty years. Then how is this that our people are largely unconcerned about it that their country has been in a state of war for three decades? It is simply because for most Indians, War is not something that affects them unless there are flagrant manifestations of it in, say, Parliament Attack, Mumbai Blasts, Pathankot, and Pulwama. This unconcern is so complete that many among our intelligentsia speak the same language as that of the terrorists, want the powers of the armed forces curtailed (eg AFSPA), and professional business as usual with Pakistan with the exchange of cultural programmes and sporting (especially cricket) events.

The present government tried to change the equation by attempting to increase the costs for Pakistan for waging the proxy war, by such punitive actions as Surgical Strikes and Air Strikes on Terror Camps (Please read: ‘Cross – LOC Surgical Counter – Terrorism Strikes, A New Indian Psyche And Resolve‘). However, our national debates (particularly on the electronic media) have invariably played into the hands of the Pakistanis. One day after the success of our air strikes, as soon as Pak retaliated, our public debate has veered to “dialogue”, “deescalation” and other such conciliatory moves.

When the deterrence of our massive armed forces hasn’t worked against Pakistan in the last thirty years of its waging a proxy war against us, our readiness to increase its costs for it should be seen as a very high priority by our countrymen. How can we play into the hands of the enemy that our recent action has resulted in escalation? Escalation is what Pakistan has done since 1989, not us. We only want to take punitive action against it so that it would stop this escalation, exactly what the armed forces are meant for.

On a debate in the electronic media, yesterday, it was suggested that if we don’t deescalate now countries that are supporting us now would withdraw support. I haven’t heard of anything more ludicrous. We do not take decisions in the interest of other countries and the enemy; we take decisions in the interest of India.

For this, we require, not just the armed forces but also the will of our people who are not deterred by small setbacks like MiG 21 having been brought down by Pakis, or by the sacrifices that they themselves have to make to bring an enemy to its senses.

We need to show this resolve and not prevaricate every now and then. The PM has given a “free-hand to the armed forces” to protect national interests (simply because other options such as dialogue haven’t worked with Pakistan). Let’s trust them since they have been trained to tackle such situations. They have never failed India in the past.

We are fighting a war. We need to defeat the enemy within before defeating the enemy across the border.

A DIFFERENT CRICKET, IMRAN?

Beware of the fury of a silent man,
Is something learnt recently by Imran.
Whilst facing the Indian spin,
He had often shuddered within,
And now he’s regretting how it all began.

Terror has been Pakistan’s biggest export,
His people have always loved this sport,
They extinguish innocent lives,
And then exchange high fives,
And eventually look for Chinese and Islamic support.

But suddenly the rules of the game changed,
For those who from their birth were deranged.
They should look for another pastime,
That’s sans violence and crime,
Before they are, in world community, totally estranged.

Guess what, Imran, it has just begun,
You’ve bowled too long with the bomb and the gun.
This is just our second boundary,
And you’re already in a quandary,
You thought your game no one had ever won.

GOOD MORNING MESSAGE #221

Good Morning Folks,
More on Noise:

Not just the noise without,
One should also control the noise within;
Our thoughts create that shout,
That leads to excessive din.
Quiet mind is healthy mind,
Silence helps it to unwind.

Shopping Malls keep the noise levels high,
They want you, on impulse, to shop;
Your mind they don’t want you to apply,
It helps them if you buy non stop.
But God never asks you to pay,
That’s why you must silently pray.

He could hear before loudspeakers were invented,
He doesn’t require you to scream.
With your silent prayers He is contented,
You can even communicate in your dream.
Let Him listen to your quiet mind,
It helps Him and you to your true self find.

Let’ shun loudspeakers from life,
And embrace godly quietude,
It would certainly lead to less strife,
And help preserve joyous mood.
When I find my God through my mind,
I always find Him so very kind.

Not more Noise!

CONFESSIONS OF A NEW AGE ‘INTELLECTUAL’

Dear People,

At one time I wasn’t very well read. I didn’t have any degrees in school; college I never went to. I knew a few jokes but no one ever laughed on them. I was as far away from poetry and writing as I could get. The only time I wrote something of my own was when the teacher asked me to write the spellings of ‘queue’ a hundred times. I had limited imagination. When asked how much was my IQ, I confidently answered, “I don’t queue. I stand by myself.”

I had no opinions about anything. One of the many reasons was that if I expressed anything, they would badger me with the IQueue thing and I never wanted to stand in the queue even if I’d miss the bus or the train.

My grammar was as poor as how about half the Indian population lives, that is, BPL. If I had to correspond with anyone, I preferred sending telegrams with a number conveying all that I wanted to.

But then, one day I discovered Whats App.

Now, I know everything. Well, almost everything. I could never get a degree such as BA, MA or MBBS. Now I am proud to be called MF or simply Master of Forwards. Soon, I shall be called WhD, a much more advanced degree than PhD. I am almost there with my Doctorate in WhatsApp.

Grammar is no more important to me. I substitute what I don’t know with emojis: which is almost everything.

My ‘finds’ on the net are admired (liked) by everyone, many by innovative use of emojis of their own; after all many of them share my qualifications and those who are well educated see great advantage in getting rid of their actual degrees and also strive to be MF and WhDs, the ‘in’ things.

My ‘intellectual’ conversation with God!

From the time I learnt something called Copy-Paste (I am thinking of getting another degree in this) I have acquired the requisite skills in being a raconteur of anecdotes, jokes, poems and other stuff.

I have also joined the league of those who have opinions about everything. Hundred percent of my opinions are copied and pasted but who is wiser? Those who read are like me; those who know better don’t read this zilch anyway.

Darwin or some other joker said that there is survival of the fittest. I call it FFF or Fastest Finger First, the difference between an ordinary person and a Crorepati (from a programme successfully Copy-Pasted from abroad). Take for example, yesterday, when the Union Budget was announced. Indians, as you know, are dying to know how much more tax they have to pay (they are amongst the least tax compliant people on earth). So, with my FFF, I got to my friends Budget Highlights before they could get them to me. I am really smart. Ten minutes of delay and they would have won.

Finally, when they ask me about IQ, I tell them….

Sorry, I can’t tell you that here. Meet me privately and I shall bring you to the same ‘intellectual’ level that I am at.

Your co-researcher

GOOD MORNING MESSAGE #220

Trying to get God through Noise?

Good Morning Friends,

Between Noise and Quiet, I always choose Quiet,
Since Quiet is peace and Noise is riot.
Noise, it always portrays destruction.
Quiet is the portrayal of Creation or Construction.
Silence is Love, Noise is Hatred,
The latter is chaos, Quiet is sacred.
Quiet is the way of greatness,
Noise would probably be chosen by the shameless.
Quiet would the Heaven spell,
Noise would remind you of Hell.
Silence would make you feel light,
Noise would evoke in you a fight.
Quiet makes you calm, Noise makes you rowdy,
Quiet is clear sky, Noise is thunder and cloudy.
I can’t imagine choosing Noise in the name of Religion,
It’s like choosing crow when you should be choosing pigeon.
You can’t reach God through a loudspeaker.
Silence is the language of His true seeker.

Try Silence. God responds through it.

GOOD MORNING MESSAGE #211

People know us through the language we use….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #210‘.

Good Morning Friends,

It took centuries for languages to be evolved,
And come to their present elegant levels;
All of us are in one way or the other involved,
Some of us are angels and other devils.
Nevertheless, language defines who we are,
A polished person or a lout at the local bar.

You may pretend to be an envied socialite,
But if you have a crude and abusive tongue,
Something about you doesn’t appear to be right,
You give the impression of being highly strung.
Language defines who we really are,
A polished person or a lout at the bar.

Image courtesy: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1199688.Babel_17

You can frequently hide your evil thought,
But when you speak you give out the truth,
Your expression can easily show your secret spot,
Of being a charlatan or simply uncouth.
Language defines who you really are,
A polished person or a lout at the bar.

So why not pay attention to what we speak and write,
And leave the gutter language in the gutter?
Our language should always be a delight,
And not something that the rogues would utter.
Language defines who we really are,
A polished person or a lout at the bar.

….our language defines who we really are.

ARE ‘FORWARDS’ BACKWARD?

The Lure of the Forwards

The guy who bemoans ‘Forwards’ is also the one who forwards these blithely? That’s the lure of the ‘Forwards’. Everyone falls prey to them sometime or the other. Everyone complains; everyone is excited to receive ‘Likes’ on ‘Forwards’.

First of all we like the ring about the word. It is a modernistic – well – forward thing to do. Imagine, if these were actually to be called ‘retards‘ (some of these are actually that only). We’d feel ashamed to share these. However, with ‘Forwards’, we have the feel-good factor of belonging to a generation that is in with new and exciting trends.

Why Are Forwards Attractive?

Lets look at some of the other things that make these attractive.

First and foremost is the ease of sharing these. Initially, WhatsApp encouraged people to forward videos, images and messages without much restriction. But, then governments (the people who are convinced that you elected them to control your lives) stepped in to restrict and monitor. Even with the present restrictions by WhatsApp, for example (of forwarding to not more than five contacts or groups at a time), you can still forward these to thousands of people without any cost to yourself except that of your time. But that’s less than five minutes most of the times.

Second is the absence of ownership. Most of these don’t carry any mark of the original author. Earlier, we used to hope that people reading our ‘forwards’ would regard us as ‘original’ authors or creators of the forwards. Now that WhatsApp has started inserting the word ‘forwarded’ with such messages, we hope to be regarded as their ‘original’ discoverers on the net with ‘painstaking research’ that we often want to be known for.

These have fuzziness of origin. This bestows on us forwarders great advantages. In case our friends are floored by it, we can share some more views on the subject. Conversely, we can disassociate with these altogether by saying, “Yaar, it is only a ‘forward’.” Now imagine if you were to share your friend’s original writing or creation (how we hate these); you would be bracketed with the views for no fault of yours.

These enable Delinking from the grammar. Most ‘Forwards’ make mockery of the grammar and the language in which they are expressed. You can totally delink from it. Lets say, you have to write something original (what a calamity). You have to be careful about language, grammar and so many other things including the correctness of the facts. Now, that would be painful. However, in a ‘Forward’ sab kuchh chalta hai (everything is fair). Most often than not, if you ain’t sure, you can replace the suspect word with an emoji. Or better still, if someone points out incorrectness of something, you can respond with an emoji and let him or her figure out what you meant.

These are not taxing on the brain. With the modern emphasis on fast food and instant gratification, ‘Forwards’ provide light reading and viewing. These go well with our own (acquired) reasoning: “As it is the ruddy life is complicated these days. I don’t want to read Dostoevsky or Franz Kafka on social media. I just want to get away from the humdrum of life (which is about eighty percent of my free time; but, I don’t want to say it).”

Take blogs (acronym for Web Logs), for example. There are any number of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) organisations that would teach you not to write great articles but to write those (dumb ones) that would be popular on the net. Most bloggers, therefore, become net-savvy and technical-savvy rather than writing-savvy.

Forwards don’t ask questions. Now this a great relief and advantage. Your friends who write original articles (the minority, that is) would nag you with such questions as, “I wrote a piece on China’s Maritime Strategy; I hope you read it?” Now, perforce, you have to read the damned thing and give opinions one way or the other (you can’t imagine responding to someone’s views on China’s Maritime Strategy with an emoji). A ‘Forward’ on the other hand can be just ignored when you are hard pressed for time (which is most of the times).

Forwards make you more popular. If you are one of the old-fashioned guys who actually delves into original writing after spending hours researching it, you are vaguely admired and respected by a few. The others respond to your so-called original writings in somewhat similar manner as they do to Mumbai Rains. Which is, that rains are most welcome when they start, say in mid June (“Ah, rains, so refreshing”). However, by mid July everyone is fed up of them. By mid August, you are praying frequently that there won’t be any more rains. In sharp contrast, ‘Forwards’ are like those light squalls that are welcome anytime, anywhere.

My own original writings, for example, hardly ever get me any comments except from a handful of people. However, my ‘brilliant Forwards’ are often (if not invariably) commented upon.

The ‘original authors and creators’ of ‘Forwards’ are really bright people. The guy who is essaying with something original has much to learn. However, “the ‘original authors and creators’ of ‘Forwards’ are highly professional people who are skilled to write what they write. It is such a pleasure reading them.”

Forwards, like Religion, do not carry time stamps. They are like Tennyson’s Brook; they go on forever. In contrast, original writings, even blogs, carry time stamp. When you re-re-re-discover a ‘Forward’, you can start to get likes and comments as if it is just out of the oven.

What are the disadvantages, if at all, of ‘Forwards’?

It has been proved that out of all the people on earth, Indians indulge in ‘Forwards’ more than others. More than five years ago, in a piece titled ‘Indian Media And the Dumbing Down Of The Indian Society‘, I had brought out how the media falls head over heels to keep the society dumbed-down. What is true of the media is also true of the social media. ‘Forwards’ keep you from any serious writing, reading, research, thought and innovation. Yes, you emerge as a ‘Master of Forwards’ (MF) whereas you should be a MA or PhD.

(Cartoon copied from https://m.dailyhunt.in)

Popularity at the expense of quality is another Indian trait. In our system of democracy, we expect the dumbest of the people to rule the country simply because they obtain majority votes. The intellectuals, innovators, writers, authors, scientists etc hardly have any say.

They spread rumours. Most ‘Forwards’ appear very authentic but do not stand scrutiny of factual examination. Like Religion, the more they spread, the more following they get and obtain a degree of respectability. Finally, the danger starts when people start quoting them as ‘authentic information’.

They produce clones. Do you remember at one time people used to have tailor-made clothes? Then came blue-jeans and sizes that would fit vast numbers of people. We did away with that uniqueness that God bestowed upon each one of us. That was in clothes. With ‘Forwards’ we are going to do with thoughts too. Very soon people would start looking like emojis.

Social interactions are all about ‘influencing’ people. I would rather influence minds that can respond with unique and original thought processes rather than minds that have been conditioned to resemble vegetables by relentless barrage of ‘Forwards’.

PRANAM TO MY BIGGEST GURU ON THIS GURU PURNIMA

Today is Guru Purnima, the day to pay homage to one’s teacher or Guru.

I was born a Sikh. Hence, as commanded by our tenth Guru Gobind Singh ji, we have the living body of Guru in the form of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji at home. That is obvious. As I go along, I shall mention how it helped me to be guided by SGGS ji.

Another obvious ones are my parents. Both my dad and my mom taught by their example. As I go along I shall mention these too. Their influence in making the person I became is immeasurable.

However, today, on Guru Purnima day, I have chosen to pay homage to my biggest Guru: Scarcity. No, not Adversity but Scarcity. Adversity is a state of mind; scarcity is only a physical condition. In doing so I am paying homage to my parents too.

Like most Sikhs, I read from the SGGS ji daily. When I was small, my dad insisted that we as a family sit together, once a day, to pray. I learnt that being poor at heart was a virtue. We didn’t have to adapt this principle. We were poor and not just at heart. One reason for it was that my dad and mom didn’t expect and accept anything from anyone. My dad worked in the horticulture department in Himachal (a North Indian hilly state). After he died, I discovered that he had paid for everything that he received from the department: fruits, canned and bottled stuff. And yet, dad was the richest person that I ever came across. He gave freely.

In my first ever class in a school (Government Primary School, Kandaghat, Himachal), one day (as told by my mom) I returned home and apologetically asked my mom if we had any money. Mom was fearful that I fancied some toy or sweet. She asked: “Bubble (for some reason I was nicknamed this by my dad), kaade waaste paise chahide ne?” (Bubble, what do you require money for?) And I replied fearfully, “Fees deni hai.” (To pay (school) fees).

Dad and mom gave us the best education, schooling and life possible. Our style of living and my dad’s passion for giving freely to people belied the scarcity we felt at home. He was a great follower of ‘Atithi devo bhava‘ (The guest is akin to God). The best at home was always given to the guests. My mom was publicly embarrassed by my dad in case she neglected to give the guests something she felt would add to perennial scarcity. For example, lets say, dad had got some sweets and she thought of not serving to the guests, dad would say in front of the guests, “Kyun mithai nahin khilani ehna nu?” (Why are you not serving the sweets to them?)

I sincerely believe God loved my parents. He always gave them enough; I don’t know how and where from it came, but it was always there. In my later life, I felt, God loved my wife and I too for we too had enough. Just a few years before retiring from the Indian Navy, I gave us an Archie’s plaque on our anniversary, which read: ‘We don’t have much but we have each other.”

Dad and mom worked very hard. Before, they could have even the remotest semblance to plenty, my dad died in a jeep accident. The kind of scarcity that we were driven into was to be seen to be believed. As an example, mom and I sold empty bottles, newspapers and other junk at home to pay off a creditor. Then, I have brought a cooking gas cylinder from 16 Kms away by bicycle so as to save the bus-fare.

My parents and scarcity taught me some invaluable lessons. Today, on Guru Purnima day I shall try to put these down:

Unshakable Belief in God. Sri Guru Grant Sahib ji has this thought on numerous occasions. In the very early part of SGGS one comes across this one from our fifth Guru Arjan Dev ji in Raag Goojari:”Kahe Re Man Chitweh Udham Ja Aahar Har Jio Dharia
(O my mind, why you keep on worrying about livelihood, when God Himself is taking care of it.
(this does not mean that one should not work for a livelihood. What this means is that one should make the honest effort but not worry about the results).Sael Pathar Meh Jant Upaye Ta Ka Rijak Aage Kar Dharia”
(Look, even for those creatures He created in rocks and stones (tiny worms), He provided their livelihood in advance (even before they were born).

There is repeated mention in SGGS ji about the uselessness of worrying. At the end of the SGGS ji, the ninth Guru says this in one of the Slokas:

Chinta – Taki keejiye jo anhoni hoei,
(You should worry if something unexpected or impossible is going to happen. The true meaning of this is that everything is as ordained by God and we are His children. Why should we worry when He would have thought of the best for us).

And look at what he (Gur Tegh Bahadur ji) says in the next line of the sloka:

Eh marg sansar ka, Nanak thir nahin koei”
(The world has been created in such a way that nothing is forever)

My maternal grandparents have great faith in their Hari Babaji (a devotee of Lord Krishna). Once when they approached him in adversity for advice, he wrote:

“Achhe din bhi nahin rehate, bure din bhi nahin rehate. Sainyam rakhiye. Sab theek hoga.” (Good days don’t last, bad days don’t last. Keep self-restraint. Everything would work out right)

My dad went several steps ahead; he had done an akhand paath (continuous reading from start to end) of SGGS ji almost entirely on his own. He believed that God and he existed for each other. His favourite hymn was:

“Jo maange thakur apne te soii soii deve,
(Whatever you ask from Him, He gives)

Nanak, das mukh se jo bole eehaan uhaan sach hove.”
(Whatever God’s servant speaks (in prayer), one way or the other it becomes true)

What about my mom? Well, in my entire life with her I never saw her ask for anything because she felt that Waheguru already knew her needs more than her and would provide without asking.

What about me? I believe my dad and mom were God. Actually, it is not right to use the past tense for God; they are God. And I believe they are still teaching me.
Value of Things. When you have plenty, you take many things for granted. However, scarcity teaches you to value whatever you have. More than anything, you learn the value of enough. Suddenly you become very very rich. You preserve. You don’t waste. Just three days before my mom went to the hospital for the last time last year she went to the kitchen (almost crawled there because she was barely able to walk) and taught our maidservant how to make ghee from the milk-cream so that it wasn’t wasted.
Scarcity Makes One Stronger. The most beautiful aspect of scarcity is that instead of making one weaker, it actually makes one stronger. Imagine that someone is trying to hurt or punish you by depriving you of something. However, you already have come through deprivation and you know how to go through it. The scheming guy is made to look small and like an idiot. When I was in school I read through a book called ‘Lights Along The Shore’. It was about a Christian priest in Stalinist Russia, sent to a concentration camp in Siberia. In order to humiliate him and break his will, he was asked to clean ten latrines everyday. In the night he thought and thought how to get out of the imposed humiliation. By the morning he had the solution: he started cleaning twenty of his own free will.
Character. I believe dealing with scarcity made me a charactered person, ethical and disciplined. For example, I never owe anything to anyone; I repay as soon as possible. In the month of April this year we had a get-together of my music group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne. Everyone was to contribute his/her share. There is a person five times richer than me. Despite dozens of reminders he didn’t pay even though he had the maximum guests. I won’t ever call upon myself such dishonour.
There is Always a Way Out. Scarcity teaches you that nothing is impossible. If you look at it the right way, with a calm mind, there is always a solution. A person who has dealt with scarcity is unlikely to get defeated by a situation.
Empathy. A person who has dealt with scarcity learns to have empathy for others who are going through bad situations even after he himself has got out of it. My father had this habit of feeling for others and give to them; it has percolated down to all three of us children.
Humility and Modesty. It also follows that even after one gets out of scarcity (for example now I have), one is never haughty or arrogant about it. One learns to be humble, modest and grateful: “God, you put me in a situation to give me some valuable lessons and tools how to get out of it. Now, God, with your help, I am out of it. Make me humble enough to realise that without your help I couldn’t have managed even a fraction of it.

In the end, I can say with adequate pride and confidence that Scarcity taught me more than Plenty would have. God and my parents (there is, like I said, no difference between the two) facilitated this learning. Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji, as ordained, has always been the trigger to such learning.

At my bedside there is a copy of a book ‘Miracles of Ardas*’ written by the Himalayan Legend, Padma Bhushan and Arjuna Award winner mountaineer Captain (of the Indian Navy) MS Kohli. It too keeps reminding of my dad’s favourite hymn from Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji:

Jo maange thakur apne te soii soii deve.

*Ardas = Prayer

Category: Opinions