Truth about Virtue ...

M.K. Gandhi's greatness is marked by virtue that may be described as under:

Virtue is never in her proper element but when death and danger seem to have hemmed her in on every side; she scorns the prize whose purchase requires not the use of all her nerves. Imperia dura tolle, quid virtus erit? (Remove the restraints of law, where will virtue be found?) saith the Tragic. Inveniet viam, aut faciet: wheresoever she become, she will either find a way or make one. No calamity is of power sufficient to bring her under. This majesty alone knows what it is to suffer check; it can neither be elevated nor dejected. Her greatness, like the highest heavens, is always firm and without clouds. Are you desirous to see her? You shall find her in the temple, in the market, in the court; you shall find her standing at a breach or scaling of a wall, her garments dusty, her countenance all tanned, and her hands as hard as iron. Wherefore, whosoever is possessed with her, let him prepare himself for dangerous assaults.

-- Daniel Tuvill, Essays politic and moral, and Essays moral and theological, (John Leon Lievsay, ed.) (Folger Shakespeare Library, Univ. Press of Virginia, 1971) at p.43.

Stand ... for what you believe.

We all carry the cross and speak what we're taught
Lies and money become the white man's god
We've burned all our bridges one too many times
The time has come now to draw the line

You know you've got to
Stand, stand, stand for what you believe
You know you've got to
Stand, stand, stand for what you believe
You got to...Stand for what you believe

You got to listen now...
Express yourself in the face of change
Repress yourself, you surely seal your fate
You got to look inside, the answer lies in wait
Resurrect before it's too late

Somebody rescue me, come down and rescue me
I know the soul of a good man has got to be free
When you stand, stand for what you believe

-- Stand, Native Tongue, Poison

Below are a few accounts from the St. Valentine's Day and the previous eve. Imagine what would happen if we all become the change we always wanted. The world would definitely be a better place. What is lacking is conviction in our actions. I look into the eyes of today's youth and I see no fire as used to be there 2 decades ago. We are caught up in selfishness to the extent of decadence.

It is rightly said that it is "best to have a wiser enemy than an idiot for a friend". It is thus also true to be a believer in things one wants to achieve. One look at Osama bin Laden's photograph as we all have seen in the newspapers so many times would tell you of a look that holds belief, conviction and selfless determination towards a cause that the man wholeheartedly believes in. Today if we have half that conviction injected in the youth, it would do wonders to make a change for the better of society.

We need to stick for what is right, and against wrong, oppression, injustice, cruelty, economic duress, economic hegemony, employers' deceit, political attrocities, political connivance, together with our colleagues, friends, neighbors as well as total strangers co-situated. M.K. Gandhi would not have achieved all that he did, just by walking half naked across the country had he not sought the camaradre of all he came across.



References:

Sene office flooded with panties

Kapil Dev lashes out at BCCI

Gandhi’s meagre musuem pieces

Democrats muscle huge stimulus through Congress

The Once and Future Kingdom ...

Just as the legend grew, so did the empire; yet fall did come swift, once the legend showed mortal weakness. There was no Merlyn to guide the economy beyond what it could have achieved, upon its soaring hopes and hollow growth, upon the timid ideals and flaccid zeal. Growth is worth only to the extent of its depth. A tree grows tall and strong only so long as its roots grow wide and deep; lest it stays a climber, ever so dependent upon an and any external support. I am reminded of the Gandhian dream of village as the centre of growth. Unless we are self-reliant, we will always rely on others for our growth and prosperity. What is sad is that this nation, this land has nothing we can not create into wealth and fuel our growth and prosperity. Scientific knowledge used merely for reducing the western cost of production, economic understanding only to fuel the desire of FII driven speculative "growth" and legal knowledge only used for the quelling of rights of our own, instead of upholding the unity and collective rights and growth of all men under the same flag.

But no one heard, and here we are at the twilight of our once "future kingdom" ... whether this twilight is of the setting glory or of the rising new hope, is yet to be seen, and is only in our own hands.



Reference:

Boom to gloom: Indian economy saw it all in 2008

As the Taj burned ...

Ever wondered what has happened to us, as a nation? What are we building, what are we representing. We have not had a good run with our policy internationally except economic poise for benefit at all costs. Nor have we strengthened the social fabric internally. Why is it that we are here at this juncture, facing things that would be iconic of the wild west. Are we still in the building phase. Do we need a civil war to correct things out, to sort out the rights of all, the equalities that we want to impose and the promise of inequality free social fabric. We could sure take a cue from our great western partner or just follow our preamble that I keep making reference to. JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY AND FRATERNITY. It so happens that my earlier post emphasized on EQUALITY, and this one screams the realization of FRATERNITY. It is only when we take all along that the path that we design, leads, inspires and motivates people to come along. It is only when we listen does the factum of FRATERNITY get realized. After all, it is not the destination, but how you get there is the worthier part (Shepherd Derria Book, Firefly, Ep. 1 Serenity).


मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिबे मंजिल मगर लोग साथ आते गए और कारवां बनता गया।


Reference:

As the Taj burned