Social Service, Preserving the Nation & Spiritual Awakening

Our Parliament, the nation's pride was attacked by terrorists a while back. A few years before this the Kashmir Legislative assembly and the World Trade Center in the U.S.A. came under terrorist attack. This means that terrorists are active all over the world, not just in our country. In spite of terrorism being a worldwide phenomenon, we observe that there is a great difference in the response to terrorist attacks in our country as opposed to the response in either America or Israel. If a Palestinian terrorist fires even a single bullet, its place of origin is completely destroyed by the Israelis. America too is all out to bring Osama bin Laden to justice along with his protector Mulla Omar for having destroyed the World Trade Center. Not just that but within two months of the terrorist attacks the Taliban government in Afghanistan has been over thrown. However in our country, terrorists have been active in Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur etc. for some years now. Then why is it that our country has not taken the same action as Israel or America? Why does the government not dare to do this? Why do we not stand united when we are faced with critical situations?

It is because of the present sad condition of our Nation.

Condition of our Nation

Condition of Society: All nations are comprised of two main parts. One is the government and the other is society. To find out the reason behind our lack of purpose we have to study the present social condition. On doing so we will realize that the current state of society is indeed very sorry. The common man has to face problems and dismal conditions all the time. On waking up in the morning, the newspapers and television report of murders, fights, corruption, scams, etc. When we leave for office or college we are faced with long queues and buses, which do not ply in a timely fashion. If we travel in our own vehicle then we have to put up with not only long ques at the petrol pump but also wonder if the petrol we are getting is pure, whether the specified amount is being filled into our tank and then whether we will be charged the correct rate for it or not!

Then comes the ordeal of having to reach our destination after going through a virtual obstacle race of tackling dug up roads, traffic jams and jostling with pedestrians who use the roads to walk on instead of pavements, as the sidewalks are all dug up or choked with hawkers, beggars & homeless people.

After our harrowing journey, say one were to arrive in collage, then one finds that the professors do not come to college, the ones that did are on strike and are not teaching & that the students continually bunk class.  So after braving the trip to either collage and then allowing an unproductive day to unfold before one, one has to gear up to retrace ones path and begin the daunting journey home through smoke filled air and congested trains and roads.

This, as you all know is a day in the life of the average citizen.

Inhuman: What happens in our personal life is happening in all fields and in every strata of society. We see that the police, postmen, bus drivers and conductors, government officials, railway officials etc. behave very arrogantly and rudely. Humility as a quality is not seen in anyone. When a ladies chain is being snatched, the people witnessing it are only in ‘audience mode’, no one has the humanity to reach out & help the person in distress. Occasionally, if someone does help the victim, then the police treat the one who helps and files the complaint so shabbily that he regrets his humanitarian gesture and vows never to attempt being a ‘good Samaritan’ again.

Reservation: Now days there are reservations in all sectors- be it jobs or promotions. Almost 50% of the seats are reserved which makes cast more important than eligibility and ability. But in politics we profess to be against cast system and vow to eliminate it!

Bankruptcy and increase in salary: The government under the guise of privatization is selling its property. This is a type of bankruptcy on the part of the government. And in spite of this there are demands been made by the government servants, for an increase in their salary.

Corruption: Corruption has become so common that neither the giver nor the taker has any qualms about indulging in it. They do not feel that they are committing an offence. 

Mob Mentality: If a school going child gets killed in a road accident or a leader dies in a hospital, then how do people react? At such times, people in the area, without bothering to find out whose mistake it is, beat up the driver and destroy the vehicle. Political party workers go a step further & damage the hospitals. All this only goes to show that society is ruled by ‘mob mentality’.

Idealism has no place: People, along with the press give an exalted position to those who collect money by any means- be it good or bad. The ones who grab power in politics through any means, along with the actor who does not have any culture or ethical values, both get to be prominently focused upon. During natural calamities they do go out in a procession to collect aid from society for these people. But actually in their personal life they evade their tax payments and cause harm to the nation. Society does not say anything about their tax evasion but laude their work of aiding at the time of natural calamities.

Knowledgeable people, idealists, honest social workers are not thought about or even known to the common man.

Gross thought process: Farmers, labourers, Aadiwasis and poor people in villages are good and the affluent rationalist people living in cities are bad. This gross thought process is a basis for looking at any questions or problems. Physical and intellectual strength is given more importance than spiritual strength. At the time of cultural and religious programs, the type of songs, dances & dress competitions etc makes us realize the corrupt form of our culture.

In this way the entire social system of our society has denigrated and degenerated and yet not a single person comes forward to act or do anything to change it. Who will want to help such a corpse like society? 

Social Movement: Sometimes an attempt is made to reawaken society through social movement. To make such a movement successful, love for the people is necessary. At present in our country there is no one who has this kind of love for his entire country. Hence the social movements are confined to those of a particular language, caste, province etc. so they work only within that limited & small field. As a result, this also is a cause for riots.

Importance of the middle class: Normally the rich in society just aren’t interested in heralding in a breath of fresh air or a change in society & as for the poor; they are in a daily struggle just to stay alive. The middle class however is in the majority. These people have education, motivation, selflessness and cooperation to a much larger degree. Which is why these are the one’s who can bring about a revolution. All the important revolutions worldwide have taken place because of them. These were the very people who were responsible for removing the British govt. from the India. It is regrettable that at present the middleclass is not even aware of its responsibility.

Common man does not have any faith in political parties & politicians but unfortunately they do not have any other alternative to them. However, an alternative has to be found. Common man is confused helpless and tolerates any injustice. This is because there is no unity among the people. About 60 years ago the then British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill had said, ' India is not a Nation but just a collection of individuals and such a population can be very easily ruled'. This is true even today. After Mahatma Gandhi, no leader has been able to kindle this feeling of oneness among Indians. Every effort has to be made to develop this feeling of oneness amongst our peoples.

Preserving the Nation

Undue importance to the Politicians: The politicians are being given undue importance. There has been degeneration among all parties after getting the chair. Politicians do not have a national perspective. Which is why, in an international forum they are ineffective in the presence of any country. Pakistan has always got the better of us in international debates and our leaders have only refuted the charges made by Pakistan. And we have seen that the Indian Leaders feel that they have done a good job even if they do no more than manage to refute the charges made about them!

Lack of Ethics: Politicians talk about ethics in public life, but in reality they do not personally behave in an ethical manner. All parties are involved in it.

The opposition joins hands with the government when passing an amendment that increases their salaries, allowances and benefits. Members, who would normally create disturbances in the house on paltry issues, do not ever bring up the issue of these unjustifiable increases in their salary! This shows us the selfish behaviour in politics. A majority of the politicians who come to the forefront as a result of the backing of the people, and who call themselves the people’s representative, very soon forget all of this and only try to further their own personal ambition.  If they have not fulfilled the promises that they made at the time of election, they use power and money to get re-elected.

Criminalization of Politicians: A person like Pappu Kallani fights the election while in prison and even gets elected! There are a lot of people who have a criminal background and are now the people's representative. Because of this there is acceleration in the criminalization of politics.

Hollow country: In spite of the fact that a lot of scams have come to light, people have not understood the real nature of these politicians and follow them as if they are mesmerized. As the governed and the government are like this, traitors have been able to penetrate and disable the country. Today many foreign nationals, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, are staying in our country illegally. Many have not only obtained ration cards but have managed to get themselves included on the voter's list. It has come to light that many such people have been residing in Mumbai and Delhi. Because of these conditions we have been able to strengthen the hands of Pakistan, our external enemy.

Making of a Nation: We must first keep in mind that politicians are incapable of doing the job of building a nation. There is a vast difference between building a nation and politics. The present form of politics is grabbing power and keeping it at all costs. Where as the building of a nation is based on truth and is a constructive process.

A Renewal not a Revolution: Anything created or formed at an emotional level (i.e. the source is emotional) is destroyed after some years. For e.g. the downfall of communism in Russia also the division and unification of East and West Germany. That means that only those changes or creations that are based on eternal spiritual concepts have a chance of lasting for a few centuries. Even though it is necessary to change every thing in the present government, yet it would not be correct that this change should not be brought about rapidly in the manner of a revolution. A revolution is like a tornado. It destroys every thing including old values and principles, and nothing is left to grow. And worse, the leader ship born through a revolution after some time causes problems and proves to be without vision. Hitler is an example of this kind of leadership. ‘Evolution’ on the other hand does not destroy but improves instead. It is easy to bring about this social renewal through Sadhana, which is why it is necessary to propagate righteousness in society.

Spiritual Awakening

Understanding between Sects: "Islam in danger" is a call that unites all Muslims. This is not the case for people of other communities. Religion, for the majority, is not such a powerful uniting factor. But they could first be brought together on a common platform to face national and social issues. And then later on they may unite to answer the call for Dharma too. For this also it is necessary to bring about understanding between sects. Opposing Sects also do have some commonality in their principles. It is the need to find out these principles and bring about a dialogue between them. If egoistic politicians can unite and bring about a common front then why can't the spiritualists who have much smaller egos.

Loss of Righteousness: For the last couple of years things like compulsory collection of funds  during the community festivals such as Navaratri, Ganapati & Pujas along with drunkenness in the fairs, using the pictures of Deities in advertisements etc have been rampant. During Ganesh chaturti, people gamble in front of the idol; play vulgar film songs instead of holy songs and eve tease girls during the procession. The things, which destroy the spiritual atmosphere in a religious ceremony, should stop. Only then will there be any spiritual benefit in celebrating a religious festival.  Nothing has been done to stop this.

Harish Acharya,(Barkur),Bangalore. acharyaharish@gmail.com