May 23, 2009

Focus of attraction : Violences

Early this week, a young woman of around 28 years made a harsh decision. She decided to jump from the terrace without any notice to any one. She succumbed to her injuries hours later leaving a stunned husband and an innocent 2 year old kid to the mercy of virtually no one. They live opposite to my kitchen and I have this girl a little uncomfortable with her mother in law. Not as serious as to jump to death, though.

Exactly two years before this date, another girl jumped fatally and that was for some other reason. I was wondering how life is taken so silly by people. They leave behind trauma and pains for the survivors. In today’s world, life is cheap and it comes so easily, fast and furious.

Counseling in matters of domestic quarrels and negotiations across the table for national problems comes as the last resort now. The first weapon is to either kill one or to go on killing others. In either cases the methodology is wrong. But then there are lacunae too. For public causes, the main criteria is public attention. So if you want a separate state, the best way is to create violence. If you ask the government politely, this is most likely to be unheard forever. Violence attracts attention and more violence puts the league in terms of a larger negotiating table. Today the world is following this formula and let’s see how long this will get on with

May 08, 2009

God’s corporate communication department

Now corporate communication has become inevitable part of all the business including that of godliness. Everything needs to be promoted and so who else than the chattering corp com guys. But since the self proclaimed saints cannot be publicly seen as promoting themselves, they do it through other ways. Asaram Bapu is a very recent example. His PR department swung into action and impersonated a name called Anil Shah, B.Com, L.L.B. (hons) and wrote the following letter to all the media in Gujarat. Here is the reproduction:

I just came across these two files regarding experiences of bhakta of Asaram Bapu. In this era of science, we just can't believe that such things could happen, but since one is the experience of a scientist of ISRO, even science has to kneel down before such incidents.
I wonder, why you Gujarat Media are so prejudiced against Asaram Bapu. I'm not a follower of him, but i believe in Sai Baba of Shirdi. I visit shirdi every weekend from Mumbai. thats my fix routine since years. not only me, but today, lacsof educated ppl from all over the country like me visit shirdi every now and then oftenly.
When i read the above experiences, I recollected the movie that i had seen far back of Shirdi Sai Baba. In the starting of the movie, when a doctor's son was very badly ill, a man recommended him to take darshan of Baba's temple in shirdi. then the person replied that I don't believe in such things, i'm an well educated doctor. then the person replied, that my friend, if you are a doctor, then I'm a Scientist !!! I too didn't believe in such things, but then my life changed....
When Baba was there in Shirdi, few ppl followed him, but there were also many ppl in the shirdi village, who humiliated Baba like anything. they used to say all kinds of rubbish to Baba, but Baba would always work for the welfare of the village, even saved the whole village ppl including those, who abused him, from the cholera disease that had widely spread in the nearest villages.
Today Baba is not there, but even on his samadhi and the Dhuni, which was started by Baba, ppl visit there and get benefitted from there. How much better it would have been if the ppl of that time, would have taken the benefit of the holy man, when he was Alive.? How good it would have been if they would have been followed the path of bhakti as per Baba's teachings ? how much benefit the villagers and the other ppl of nearby villages would have got, if they would have followed his preachings ? If Baba was able to enlighten the lamps with just mere water, He would have also enlightened the lamp in the heart, if one would have followed him.
Likewise, today, When we come across such experiences of followers of Asaram Bapu, my eyes became wet..... that why is media playing such a role to defame Asaram Bapu ? why is the media so prejudiced against him. what does saints like Sai Baba or Asaram Bapu have taken from the society, they have always given good preachings and the life of ppl have changed after following their preachings....
I beg to you with my wet eyes, that please don't drag the society away from such saints. Please don't part the society from taking benefit of such holy saints. hope my letter and above experiences open your eyes.
jai Baba

The letter ends here

Alas ! the corp com of God’s Own Men (GOM) failed to create any magic on the media. It is a tragedy that Indians need saints to prosper in this age of moon mission. They don’t need Gods anymore and therefore the replacement strategy of GOM have prospered all over the country. It is applicable now to each and every religion where these GOM adores the bedroom and drawing rooms. The last straw is perhaps the PR work