Honour

Lately, we come across multitude of incidents that we label inconceivable, inhuman or even savage. A reason for such incidents coming to light is deeper penetration of media in our lives, thanks to the improvement in technology. Media, purportedly the fourth pillar of democracy - unfortunately infested with most inane variety of humans - has coined a term for the genre of such incidents: Honour Killing.

From pristine ages till date, our society is plagued with this bug of honour. The पांडव ruined their entire youth for the name sake of क्षत्रीय honour. Today, we go gaga over the men in armed forces, for they protect the honour of the country. Innumerable couples are made victims of inhuman treatment for they act against the hollow honour of family or society.

Strangely though, a common trait can be observed in all such honour deed: an irrational, illogical or hollow act that can't be justified on volition.

पांडव, had they been so great warriors they are portrayed as - for record, none of them killed any significant कुरु general or scion - each one breached the hallowed क्षत्रीय code of conduct. भीष्म, द्रोणाचार्य, कर्ण or दुर्योधन, all were killed by deceit or foul, masterminded by कृष्ण. व्यास reconciles on this later, in the very epic, stating, 'अधर्म brews अधर्म.' In turn accepting, that illogical decisions -taken or accorded to- for stake of honor leads to ruin.

Inordinate amount of hype is attached to armed forces; domestically as well as worldwide. Speak a little against (read truth) them and every Tom, Dick and Harry's head spins topsy turvy. Everyone gets into a dialectic of how we are safe and sound for someone is guarding the fences when we are sleeping tight. We are hence indebted and since we can't offer anything else, we offer our honour. But I pay taxes to the government who makes their salary cheques! Once discussing the same with a close acquaintance, who hails from army background, I got a surprising repartee. She said, 'Ask me. I know. War is such a waste! It doesn't kill humans. It murders humane. It's so tragic to admit that we kills others to live.' She further added that the postings are harsh and surviving such arduous circumstance is but laudable. I agreed in toto. Armed forces are necessary evil, for fanatics are incorrigible. The men must be respected, undoubtedly, yet, at par with other citizens engaged in other productive enterprises. Many people die while building roads, bridges, dams, power plants and similar infrastructure which touches - though much pronouncedly - to more lives. The poor souls never garner notice because it didn't die of some silly bullet or a worthless jet. Is their life insignificant just because of this?

Regarding honour killing, it reminds me of the uncivilised tribal instincts, where the decision of mass rules over he decision of the class. Ancient scriptures, though religiously followed & adhered by such, have failed to imbibe pragmatism in the followers, ironically, which they were meant for.

Honour and Logic, unfortunately, can't coexist.

Democracy

Democracy, by definition, is a funny system. Its tenets are based on a plainly incorrect premise that all men are intelligent. The only grace is that the definition duly discounts women. As the definition goes, in a democratic system, people elect their representatives. That technically means, one selects a person amongst themselves, to rule them. Consciously elected slavery! Now, every sensible man is a slave of his wife; not for a man is a good slave and a woman is a good Master, but for the simple reason that as a slave, he just have to offer his ears for the fiats, while execution - a deed that eventually decides the fate of that fiat - remains at his disposition. Taking cue from this, perhaps, the promoters of democracy might have propounded the doctrines of the system. Though ironically enough, we find a little representation of the fair sex in the top brass of the democratic system world over.

Those who found the aforementioned analogy of slavery and man vs woman comparison offending or frivolous might argue in favour of the system vehemently with a superior logic. In one or the other way, it boils down to the platitude of equality amongst the men. But can it ever be? Can you equate the mind of Francisco d' Anconia to that of some rustic mystic, whose brain houses only the carnal knowledge? Men should never be compared. While the specie is same, the minds are quintessentially unique, distinct, diverse and discreet. Mind is the only criterion to judge a man. If he has inferior mind, his judgements, decisions, analysis - summarily, thinking - has to be commensurately inferior. Such a man needs nourishment of knowledge, a posteriori. How can two such divergent men decide a common good? A schmuck can be won with little shrewd wordplay and alms, for a poor mind coexists notoriously always, with a poor wallet. The poor mind once - and hence - won, given that it has myopic outlook, can only see short term gains. Simply speaking, the poor mind can be lured, favourably. As it is there for any natural phenomenon, the peak - the apogee, the pinnacle, the highest point, the crest, the best quality, et al - is always either short liver or occurs too less, so is with the human mind. The poor mind occurs aplenty, while the best ones, rarely. As democracy relies on numbers, the demand of which can be offset much easily by the humongous supply of the poor brains, democracy essentially a system of the fools, by the fools and for the fools. If one of you feels grudged in it, congratulations, your mind has evolved.

Personally, I would rejoice all stupid and unintelligent primates being shot dead, perhaps, many other sensible vegetarians may disagree. A rather worse, time consuming, expensive and yet, low success rate work around is to educate the poor brains. Any religious leader, obviously, can't be entrusted. I would incalculably relish strangleholding each of them. Then who else?

Alas! the onus is but always on me...

Atlas Shrugged

Let me confess it candidly, it's the best piece of literature I have read till date. Reason? It's a rhetorical question. The book is a fine piece of philosophy, that is practical, sensible and based on just one premise: Reason. The books on philosophy are deemed (incorrectly) as of abstract ideals. The dictionary definition for philosophy is: it's a set of belief or attitude to life, that guides one's behaviour. The book does justice to the definition, in toto.

A life without reason is no life. The reason can be as meagre as assurance of two square meals a day or even to run a transcontinental railroad. But there should be one. Reason is the only absolute. An absolute, that consummates with one's mind to procreate everything else, that is relative to this absolute. Success of a man's life is relative to his own definition of the success, something that he has defined as the reason or aim of his life.

The only sin - the ultimate one - is to life for no reason. The penultimate one, is to fall for the first by divorcing with the reason. Simply put, the most immoral thing is to accept mysticism over rationality.

One wise teacher of mine had once professed aphoristically, "The six eternal friends of any human are: What, when, where, who, why and how." If one strives to keep put with them, he is the happiest man. Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is power. Mysticism can offer only the former. Reasoning, only the latter. The six intimate friends help one achieve it. The most powerful statement one can make is this: I know. If one has answers, the correct logical, sensible, unbiased, unequivocal and supported by reason, he has found the remedy to all vices. Or, the other way - the mystic escapist way - is to elude every question by pointing fingers at some unfathomable inanimate object whose existence even they can't prove.

The knowledge is the source of happiness. Reason, only way to achieve it. Mind, the only tool to use. Facts, the premise to begin with. Or, one can chose to be ignoramus, thus ignoble automatically, by being oblivious to the truth, reality and practicality.

Running away to jungles, only for the namesake of 'Search of Knowledge', deferring responsibilities of being a human is escapism. Never Sagacious. Cities, towns, metropolis are creation of man - of his conquest over nature - and no bovine, for he has the power to think. Refusal to think and escapism is a bovine trait. IF one can't think, he can't be human. If one can't reason, he can't be human. If one deliberately avoids knowledge and escapes, he can't be human.

The knowledge has nothing to do with the secret of uniting oneself with the God. Everyone is, already; by default. God is Energy. The man who put down the laws of Conservation of Energy, was the most religious man. God can't be created or destroyed; Yes. God has existed since infinity and shall exist to eternity; Yes. God is in every object, animate or inanimate, small or big, human or bovine; Yes. Life after death exists; Yes, the energy changes its form.

Why run to jungles for these answers? I never recited any ghastly incomprehensible hymn or indulged into any illogical ritual. Yet, I could reason out the answers. Anyone can. One needs to think. Rationally, without bias. If there is a question, answer has to be. And an escapist surely can't have it.

Think. Resolve. Compute. Analyse. Decide. Build. Produce. Improve. Qualitatively and Quantitatively, both. In short, grow. Don't beg. Demand only if you can supply something in return. Nothing is free. Don't give, if you can't take. Don't loot, if you can't create.

Life is creativity, a progeny of thought. Stagnation is death. Create assets. Create resources. Make money. Each penny is a materialisation of your thought. A value of your mind. If this money is the root of all evils, I am proud to accept to be the most evil man.

If you understand even a fraction of a percentage of the aforementioned mindsports, read Atlas Shrugged. If not, then may be this urge you to: The book depicts the present of India, written in past, as a future of it, incidentally, coming true by every word of it.

The book is a must read.

Energy

Yesterday, power went off umpteen times. As we have APC at the office, initially, work wasn't affected as the PC's didn't go off along with the lightings and the AC. However, later in the day, as the UPS weren't charged enough due to frequent power downs, even the PCs bid adieu. Thankfully, our critical servers were on redundant supply of generators and hence didn't crash. Had they, it would have been a jolly good time pass for all. And then we (read HR) talk about productivity and efficiency in terms of man-hours.

What is the most important thing for any living person in a civilised world? Basic Amenities. Do we have? Unfortunately, inadequate. Why blame the government we elected. By definition, the representatives of the people, after all, represent the cumulative sum of the intelligence of the people. If we are bereft of the bare minimum infrastructure, it is we who are to be blamed. Period.

At the time of independence, 60 years back, our generating capacity was around 33000 MW. Now it is around 1.3 GW. Sixty years for 1 GW; less than 1700 MW per year! As of date, over 45000MW capacity addition is in under way, that is to be synchronised by 2012. Looking at the current (administrative and financial) prospects, it seems feasible. So, in next 5 years, we shall have added around 30% of the our present capacity; equivalent to the proportionate work accomplished in about 30 years between 1947-2007! Can it be done? The answer is an emphatic, Yes. Power, Oil, Gas - in short, Energy - is the need of the day. It has always been.

There are two ways to be happy. One, the escapist way, preached by the pristine sages of India which professes an individual that to be devoid of the material pleasure. Simply speaking, they convey that one should not desire. If there are no desire - of any variety - there is no discontentment. If there is no discontentment, one is happy. So, live in jungles with monkeys, eat herbs, sleep on hay and enjoy the nature. The other way is the entrepreneurial one. Take risks, invent, discover, desire; for comforts, facilities, amenities, et al. Enjoy them. Be happy. These are tangible things. Material of the Materialistic pleasure. One can quantify these things, at least, unlike the unfathomable and unquantifiable Spiritual one. OK. Where are these so-called materialistic things going to come from? Heaven? Absolutely not. We have to manufacture them. If we want it, we need to work. We need to upgrade infrastructure. We need to produce energy. It's the motive force that can drive us ahead. Granted, energy can't be created or destroyed. But, what we have been doing since last two millennia? Chanting dohe? How much moral purification it did? The Noida Serial Killer? Had he had better income, he would have savoured some vegetarian delicacies over the human flesh. We have been wasting incredible amount of energy on ostensibly worthless pursuits in the name of public welfare under the fictitious banner of 'Help the Poor'. How far are the alms going to feed? If the hand gets rewarded with money for doing nothing but just because it's the hand of poor, why that hand would ever desire to achieve the strength to earn. We need to teach how to fish, rather than giving away fish. And then, who is we? No, not only the government. Why blame them. If you swear, you will catch no fish. We have to work. We have to earn the happiness we desire, lest we are ready to be labelled as escapists.

We want malls, cars, ditch less roads, uninterrupted power supply and ilk. Where is it going to come from? Doing maintenance of obsolete mainframe code? Or by answering overseas calls? Where are you going to power the mainframes from? Where are you going to power the telephone exchanges? Where are you going to power the escalator you used to reach the next floor of mall? What are you going to fuel the car with? Spiritual drivel? Rubbish.

We need to manufacture. That needs industries. That needs skilled manpower. That needs education. And it can't be achieved by reservations, for sure. Prosperity is a function of (skilled) workmanship, not alms. I firmly stand by the following words of John D. Rockefeller, "I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure." We need to realise what drives the world. It's not service. It's manufacturing. Products. And that needs Energy.

Think over it.

Mind Over Matter

A graduate from an inland premier education institute walked away with an atronomical salary package. The news made headline. Most awed, many grudged, while a few despised. Is counting trailing zeros in the salary package, the only criterion of judging the brilliance of a being? Is this the value of mind; Just a few green leaves?

The society is witnessing a trend. Unfortunately, a negative trend. Definition of being a careerist has narrowed down to one, who is successful raking tons of money. A student no longer aspires for a premier institute because his academic thirst will be quencehed. The institute assure a hefty pay package job in an MNC. That is the only thing that matters. A miniscule percentage of graduates opt for higher education. Of those who do, not many have inclination for research. To make the agony even more miserable, the same student - who strived hard to graduate from that premeier institute - opines with grimace, 'Uh! PG from this place? No way! It doesn't carry any worth. It's OK upto graduation. But PG, Oh Please! I can't risk my career with a PG from this crap. I need a tag from US, to highlight my resume.'

Why are we not able to cultivate a feeling of respect for our educational farmlands? No doubt, there are alumini from such premier institute who still respect, their erstwhile abode. They not only flaunt their institute, but also fund many of its researches, labs and facilities. Kudos to them. However, they are the persons who made into these institute on their own. They didn't use the cruches of pervasively mushrooming Coaching Classes. And mind you, that counts. Dropping out for a year, exclusively for studies to get into a premier institute, has become a fad. Those who get in; through their hardwork, consistent and determined efforts concentrated at their aspiration, it's a dream cme true. For those, who can not, coaching classes are always there. I have personally seen students taking two; even three years of drop, only to be successfully subsumed in a sub-premier institute. All this for one good reason. A lable from the premier institute, and your life becomes easy henceforth. Good job and loads of money. Simple as that.

Raking huge money is not bad. Having the potential and underutilising it, undoubtably, is a sin. But using a premier institute as a platform for all this is opportunism. Sounds ugly. Isn't it? No one cares.

Why one should?

We never taught them, to question, why and for what they are studying.

Should we?