Monarchy to Anarchy- Via democracy

 

Once upon a time there was a benevolent king who always had the state welfare in his mind and deeds, he firmly believed in wellbeing of all stakeholders in his kingdom and earnestly strived to fulfil the same thus was liked by majority, people were happy, and kingdom prospered.

Suddenly, one fine morning a tribal chieftain rebelled with his followers, stormed into the Kings palace with arms and ammunition to seek freedom from the King but was overpowered by the men of the King and brought in front of him for punishment. Being a conscious and a principled man, the King heard the grievances of the chieftain, realized that the region of these tribes was truly deprived of the progress due to administrative failure thus pardoned them all and took the chieftain on board for progress.

Thanks to the visionary King, the kingdom was prospering and the life of the people peaceful and enjoyable, four decades down the above incidence yet again a similar rebellion took place from the same region, the rebels captured, this time the King punished them all with a life imprisonment. The ombudsman in the kingdom was astonished and asked the King as to why he punished this chieftain while forty years back he had not only pardoned his father but even made him a regional satrap.

The King replied that forty years back the rebellion then was genuine, he could see the deprivation and hunger in  the rebels eyes thus it was he who had to make amends, take them into confidence, alleviate their problems to be inclusive thus he made amends to ensure the prosperity in that region but this time he could sense from the body language of the chieftain’s son greed for power and  filthy prosperity  for selfish gains and not the wellbeing of the people  thus had to be taught a lesson and punished.

Three decades back Mr. Mahendra singh Tikait had led a farmer’s agitation and succeeded in evolving a dialogue-based settlement to become a Mahatma for Kissans of India. History is now repeated with his son Rajesh Tikait trying to become one but the intent now it seems not a satyagraha (fight for truth) but svagraha (Selfish interests) deserving punishment. Of course, in democracy, he has right to protest but should not be at the cost of inconvenience, loss to property, wealth, lives and progress. The democratic king is helpless thus time for silent majority to stand up and teach them a lesson in their own dose.

The world moved from monarchy to democracy objectively to make the society participative and inclusive to give equal opportunities for all with constitutional guarantees in form of rights and their duties as principled guidelines. Sadly, the duties are forgotten, principles are hanging in the air, right has become might, democracy has become mobocracy, nepotism has replaced despotism, rich richer, poor poorer, north south divide wider, western materialism overpowers eastern values while disrespect, hate, violence, corruption has turned people against people.

The current deplorable political situation in USA, U.K., France and India all democratic societies can easily be attributed to vote-Bank politics over a period of time which has demeaned the voter’s intellect and exploited the gullible Janata. It is high time that the responsible citizenry which has remained silent majority to the ever-deteriorating situation rises to the occasion and raise the voices in a democratic fashion to bring all culprits to books and save ourselves from anarchy.

Initiate a dialogue to evolve a consensus towards developing a vote-bank free society which respects the law, their own as well as rights of other citizens along with full understanding of their own duties, value of their vote with an effective “Just “system to ensure fair play, equal opportunities and freedom to thrive and prosper.

Satish Shitut

Jai Bharat

 

Personality cult-a Congress creation and a warning to BJP

 

The current crisis in congress party, where they are not able to look beyond the Gandhi Parivar to revive the sinking fortunes of a 150-year-old party is the result of last 70 years of gradual surrender of their ideological and democratic character to become a personality driven party. Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru can be squarely blamed for fostering a personality cult around him which gave birth to a narrative penned and propagated by an army of court jesters who built a visionary persona for him and lived off it.

Mrs. Indira Gandhi ruthlessly capitalized on it, in fact during her time, “India is Indira” and “Indira is India”, was coined, sadly all the democratic process in the party were muzzled, opposition eliminated to the extent it became Congress(I) and the era of divide and rule, coterie & high command culture took its root, which is the only game Sonia Gandhi learnt to survive and remain leader for last two decades.

The result is very obvious, today they do not have a single leader to take over the mantle of congress, their two generations have just been subservient and loyalists, not to mention corruption mired rather than character-based party workers. They still root for the failed charisma and aura of Gandhi family to cling to their positions and usurp power rather see the daylight to transform and rebuild the party.

The irony is that none of the current three Gandhi’s have either a strong character or the so-called big following in the country. They are scripts without any content, glorified personalities without any ethical character, as a matter of fact the tried and failed heir apparent is already a laughingstock. Not to mention all three have cases of corruption, fraud and quid pro quo against them.

Congress and most of the Indian political parties thrived on this personality cult and over the years translated into a dynastic submission. Instead of building a party cadre on the works and ethics of Tilak, Gokhale, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra prasad, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Narasimha Rao  they propagated the sacrifices and  contributions of only Nehru-Gandhi equation which resulted in sycophancy and subservience rather than ownership and responsibility for a cause.

As a quick fix, it suits any political party to create a personality cult around their leader to ensure a following to help them in their pursuit to remain in power with their loyalty. Most of the Indians also over centuries have been hero worshippers and always look for a Hero to fulfil their own aspirations and    relief from any sufferings. This weakness is fully exploited by all the political parties to remain in power rather than serve the nation earnestly.

The current dispensation in power BJP, came to power proclaiming itself as a party with a difference with a development plank for all. Their resounding victory in 2019 elections consolidated their position. Their approach of Nation first is laudable, cultivation of character-based party workers, creation of growth opportunities within the party to develop future leaders is the way forward.

BJP need to be on guard and check on the Modi-cult to ensure that they do not go the congress way. They benefit from the backing of RSS, which works solely on developing a character-based cadre who are committed and devoted to the nation building and then loans them to BJP. This is a continuous process desired for a sustainable growth of the any political party and the nation it serves. A good institution breeds leaders with character while a personality cult destroys the institution itself.

Party above “I” and Nation above party is the Mantra. One Parivar understands, the other does not.

Satish Shitut

Jai Bharat

Exemplary M.S.D. (Captain Cool)

 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni who let the sun set on 14^th August at 1929 hours, to retire from international cricket, shall definitely leave many cricketers and his avid followers disheartened but shall also leave a strong legacy behind for almost all the youngsters of India, to emulate and grow in their lives, regardless of any career or sport, they feel like pursuing, to be effective in their own lives.

A small town boy from Jharkhand, coming from a lower middle class family, dreams of playing cricket for India, leaves his paltry job of a ticket collector in the city, focuses on playing cricket, rises from a local cricket sixes player to a Captain of Indian cricket team and plays international cricket for 16 long years in all formats, where he dominates, endears, conquers and finally renounces with a run out.

His story is a perfect example of “Make your own dreams come true”. In his journey of the life so far, both on and off the field , he was never bogged down, by any situation or circumstance but ensured that he persevered coolly what he believed in, carried the responsibilities, on his shoulders nonchalantly, to succeed in any given situation, no wonder that he was revered to as a  “Captain Cool”

His life story, exemplary exploits on the field, his behavior on and off the field, his contributions to the game and his teammates, his relationships with the administrators and the competitors alike, his love for his family, friends and his fans shall now become a folklore with a tag or “God of Cricket”.

He may have renounced from International cricket but will be serving our country in many ways, is rest assured. He is  already an honorary Lieutenant Colonel  in the Indian army for the services he does for love for his country and the servicemen, we will not be surprised when we shall see him devoting more time for our Defense Services  as a “True son of our country”.

There shall by many statistical details on his glorious cricketing career which you either know or shall read and remember but for any youngster in any part of the world, the key takeaways from him are-:

Everything happens twice, once in dreams and then in reality, so think big and persevere till the end. The process is continuous and lifelong on the lines of sow a thought, reap an action, sow an action reap a habit, sow a habit reap a character, sow a character and reap a destiny.

Be a child in your heart so that you are always curious to learn, fearless and courageous in your actions, laugh at any failure, be happy and move on, as each failure is always a step towards the success lurking just next door, each given situation is an opportunity to learn from and gain from the same thus be cool and be always determined.

Be aware of your abilities and have the self-belief to act with a strong resolve to work hard on various aspects of skills, knowledge, understanding and social behavior to become a self-respecting person first and then selfless to help people around you and build a team to lead them by example. This journey from self-respect to selflessness in the life is a hallmark of any successful person, in any field.

His fundamental principles in his life, which he applied in all aspects of his life starting with self, family, friends, game, fans, teammates, competitors, his country and the countrymen of Respect, Understanding and Love shall always stand him good as “What goes around always comes back”

His rise from a small-town boy to a poster boy to a “God of Cricket” is a perfect example for others to follow these principles of natural laws and “evolve” in their lives, too.

Satish Shitut

Jai Bharat

 

P.M. a True Pradhan-Sevak (Chief Servant)

The Bhoomi-Pooja (worshipping of five elements of nature and a ritual devoted to earth) before beginning the Shree Ram temple construction, to remove the negativities and impurities at the hands of P.M. Modi, is not a coincidence but looks like an act of god, because Mr. Modi had declared himself in 2014 itself that he is a Pradhan Sevak and not a Pradhan Mantri.

The legend goes that When Lord Shree Ram immersed himself in Sharayu river in Ayodhya to return to his abode, Lord Hanuman his (Bhakt) chief servant also wanted to go with him but Lord Shree Ram told him that he will have to remain on earth till the kalyug(era of downfall of spiritualism) and perform his duties to fight for truth against evil and wrongdoings.

Ramayan the epic is a gripping story of victory of good over evil, love, compassion, relationships and social behavior of all stakeholders, the conversations at crucial junctures of decision making are value based, philosophical and keeping in tune with Dharma( natural laws of right behavior and social order).The temple symbolically represents and reminds us of those virtues & our great civilization.

Lord Shree Ram “The Maryada Purushottam”(a perfect man-symbol of many virtues) who always stood for Dharma and truth, established his kingdom, “Ram Rajya”, a society based on Righteous principles of morality, justice and equality as an ideal form of good governance in the interest and wellbeing of his Praia(people) the central character.

 In fact Mahatma Gandhi’s dream at the time of the independence was also to have “Ram Rajya” in India, even our constitution is framed based on those ideals, but the ideals were lost during the course  of misrule and time has come for the people of this country to unite and fight, and once again free our country from the clutches of corruption, illiteracy, poverty, injustice, and other evils—the anti-people creations of our own fellow countrymen.

Service is simply an action of doing something to help someone, In Christianity it is an act of doing work for showing GOD's love to others with a willing heart, In Islam it means giving preference to others over yourself and considering their happiness and welfare before your own, In Sikhism, apart from other services(Karseva)as we all know, it means serving the wisdom (Gyan) ,i.e. to cultivate the service as a state of mind and then act unconditionally.

Seva in Sanskrit means a selfless service which is an outcome of seva-Bhav i.e. an inner feeling (Bhav) born out of love and the act borne out of this feeling is Seva, it is considered the most important part of spiritual practice to serve others with no expectation of outcome. Mr. Modi being honest with no materialistic attachments has been serving selflessly & relentlessly since 2014, working 16 hours a day, 365 days to serve the nation and all the people of India.

We may differ on his policies, politics and gaps in walk and talk but must give due credit to his Sevabhav and the ideals which do reflect in most of his policies to reach the last man in line(Antyodaya), unite all with  “sabka saath-sabka vikas-sabka vishwas”, remove corruption towards making a New India which is spiritual and the belief in oneness of the world at large (Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam)

Thus, a person who achieved wisdom through spiritualism and experience, who is selflessly serving the nation with total dedication(Tan-Man-Dhan), who believes in the Ideals of Lord Shree Ram and has vowed to usher in Ram Rajya(an ideal form of governance and society) deserves to be our Pradhan Sevak to perform this ritual and usher in the “Ram Rajya”. Guess, the right man for the right job at the right time for this temple (Symbol of all virtues and our rich heritage)

Satish Shitut

Jai Bharat

 

Ego- Part of a whole and not a whole in itself

We are all born with an ego, in fact, it is our survival tool and is the platform to board and begin our journey in search of the truth. But for ego, which is the self-esteem and or self-importance, we may remain ignorant, passive and many possibilities may remain unexplored with our immense abilities.

We are all born dependents and gradually move towards Independent- Intradependent-Interdependent. In simple terms as we do not live in isolation but in a society , we have to first establish our identity and then embark on life journey from  I to we, We to us and finally towards the whole(ultimate truth). I is a means to achieve an end and not an end, while ego is just a shadow of that I, let it be that small part.

The problem arises when we start overindulging in this “I” rather than moving towards the whole as mentioned above, we end up moving from I to Me to Mine and Myself.  The self assumes such huge proportions that we become indifferent to impact of our actions on others. we become Possessive, greedy, righteous, self-centered and start appropriating everything as our entitlement to lose the plot.

If we want to be a “GOOD Human being”, we need to first invoke “I” to make it happen, use it for our growth to ultimately surrender and witness life, the way it should be. In the process we rise in our own self esteem through self-awareness and self-respect. If we overindulge here, “I” gives rise to the ego, makes it bigger and we become utter selfish and egoists instead of moving towards selflessness i.e. us.

In order to lead an effective and balanced life, we all strive for growth in following areas and need to be aware that ego can be a spoilsport thus consciously  using the ”I” rather than working for “I”, will help.

Physical growth: Of course we have to take care of our body to be fit and maintain it properly , look beautiful, stay healthy live long and it is a must but quite often we start admiring our own growth, start indulging in the acquired beauty, muscle strength, the fitness and flex it in front of others  which in turn creates problems for everybody and we get mired in our own self-centric behavior.

Mental growth: The continuous process which we all follow for our mental growth is to collect data-analyze- convert to information-acquire knowledge- apply- experience-validate- wisdom- ultimate truth. Most often we end up as I know all, I have done it, I know it, I am right before even experiencing it and the growth stumbles, whereas with each experience we need to go back to “ I do not know” & restart.

Financial growth: of course we cannot become self-dependent without acquiring skills and abilities to make money and support ourselves and later the families as well, it is a must but still only a part of our overall growth, to achieve the end and not an end in itself. The attachments of this material world and the inherent desire to accumulate is infinite because of me. Here you need to take a call and follow the path from I to We-Us-whole and surely dump me-mine and myself.

Spiritual growth: This is a clincher as it helps our “I” to slowly surrender to the whole, as this aspect is about reaching out and connecting with our inner soul. It is a continuous process to develop our inner feelings and powers to harmonize with life around & slowly dissolve the “I” with our responsible actions.

To avoid the pitfall of ego and lead a balanced and effective life, better to build a principled character based on the four natural principles of Respect, Understanding, Love and Evolve. Focus on them in each of the daily activity, practice, make it a habit to become a whole and not remain just “yet another I”.

Satish Shitut

Jai Bharat

Emotions, Temptations and Thoughts are our personal baggage

All human beings are equally born with mind, body, spirit and soul. We also carry personal baggage of emotions, thoughts and temptations(evils)which make our lives complicated and particularly challenging. The beauty is that these three are the cause of human sufferings as well as the happiness. It is honestly said that “they can be our best friends and our best enemies” thus managing them to our own benefit (WIIFM) is the way forward.

All the avatars or prophets also had to go through the human lives to experience maximum human sufferings and come out victorious to prove their godliness. They are the symbols of all virtues and set an example for us to learn from and humanly put into practice. Both sufferings and death are inevitable in our life, a continuous effort to minimize the suffering and maximize the happiness, to the best of our abilities and enjoy the journey, is the name of the game.

Emotions: Fear, anger, shame, disgust, sadness, surprise, curiosity & Joy are main emotions which play a part in our life, first four bring negativity & last three positivity, we have the abilities and energies to minimize and maximize both with our actions. For example, a feeling of disgust due to an action of others can be given a pass and if it is out of our own action, correct it.

Temptations:  Lust, wrath, greed, attachment, jealousy and ego are our internal enemies. If Adam and eve in spite of warning by none other than God were tempted to eat the forbidden apple, who are we to suppress or avoid them thus the best way is to go through the process of self-realization i.e. Experience-Introspect- Conclude, beware and act consciously in future.

Thoughts: Our mind is a processor and is always in a thinking mode, it churns out thoughts by second. That being a neuro process, they come from anywhere and everywhere. They may be good, bad, ugly, beautiful, innovative, critical, novel, lofty, destructive, constructive and all sorts. Let them come and go but do practice cognitive thinking process and skills to channelize them to acquire knowledge, comprehend, process, remember and apply accordingly. They say that all creations happen twice, once when thought or dreamt and second time in real. Make them happen.

Our life is a long journey, this trio is our preloaded baggage which remains with us throughout the life. Emotions are a mixed bag thus it is in our interest not to overload further by being too emotive over sensitive or insensitive. Learn from each thought and temptation to offload them, let them pass and focus on those which benefit you. This is a continues process to follow with the following natural endowments to manage them as per the best of our abilities and efforts.

Self-Awareness:

We have the ability to reflect on our own selves, introspect the inner self with our intellect so use it to analyze, understand  the thoughts, the emotions, the temptations and act based on the best known idiom ”what is in it for me”. Regular introspection and meditation is the way forward.

Freedom to choose action:

Once you have ascertained the WIIFM through the awareness process, experience the same and act consciously based on your own conclusions to evolve your own baggage policy. Never be afraid of failure and or seek advice. Do trust the source but verify as well, to grow.

Always remember that this personal baggage is a normal phenomenon in our lives, be human and enjoy the game of Rummy(pick and discard) to minimize the suffering, maximize the happiness, take both of them in your stride, a win after a loss is more sweeter, they say!

Satish Shitut

Jai Bharat   

Live life golf like- some similarities spiritually

A lot has been said about life being similar to golf and in some ways it is, both are four letter words like the other one which give you ecstatic moments while living or playing and we spend our lifetime in search of them and they remain either sporadic or elusive. Apart from this both life and golf have a huge aspirational aspect to them, easy to look at but complex and complicated to play or live effectively.

In golf, you are a solo player( of course there are competitors but they too are playing their own game like we live our own lives) with 14 clubs in your armor to choose from, to hit a stationery ball at a target determined by you, till you sink it into a hole, there are 18 holes and you are supposed to finish a game in 72 shots. In general, an average golfer takes around 90 plus shots to finish a round of golf, professional take between 67 to 75 plus shots and beginners around 120 plus shots.

In the process, to begin with you need to have a strong desire to play golf, learn, practice, invest time, money, start playing and gradually progress to higher levels with your skill, you are on your own- a player, a referee and a scorekeeper who signs his own report card, you have to play the ball as it lies, overcome all hurdles created by surroundings, weather, ground conditions, take the breaks in your stride and use your clubs ably to reach the target area, approach, land and sink the ball in the hole.

You are not only fighting the external battle as above, but you must overcome the internal issues as well to achieve your desired targets. A strong foundation on basics of the game, fit body, deep breathing, high spirits, alert mind, and soul fully into the game is a perquisite. Self-belief, awareness of the game, understanding of its rules and etiquettes, consideration for others, passion to excel, determination, practicing the skills, execution, fail-succeed-learn and in the process evolve, is the name of the game. We do face similar situations and require the skills in personal lives as well, to progress.

Now to be an effectively a good player, you need to strengthen internally as well, because any perfect shot demands oneness, spiritually too that is the way to progress in life. In golf, it takes roughly 4 and half an hour to finish a round in 72 shots, execution of these shots requires just two seconds each for that oneness where the body, mind and the club are in unison during that swing to impact a stationery ball and propel it to the desired destination. Total 144 seconds (72 X 2) of oneness of two seconds each spread in between periods of inactivity and wavering mind is a tough act and everybody’s nemesis.

Spiritualism says that you are only a part of a whole and you need to dig deeper within you consciously to find the truth of who you are to become one with that whole. and they meditate regularly to seek that oneness and evolve on that path. It is a proven fact that even those who meditate, to focus for two seconds, it requires regular practice as thoughts keep flowing every second. Years of focused regular practice helps them first to scrape the surface, dig deeper and then walk the path of oneness.

Oneness can be achieved by organizing your mind, body, emotions and energies to focus in one direction. Once your physical body, wavering mind, floating thoughts and the energies within are in unison in that direction you reach your destination. Similarly, in your “golf swing” during each shot a skilled golfer must aim, take the right club and posture, head still, eyes on the ball and balance evenly

on the legs and knees. Then leave out emotions, keep the mind and energies on the ball, move the arms, hips, shoulders slowly and swing in unison to achieve the desired shot. Result is the moment of ecstasy.

Practice may not make you perfect but no practice surely makes you imperfect thus keep trying, love the process, forget the momentary lapses and enjoy the moments of ecstasy, that is the way to play golf, live life, lifelong, to evolve with each ecstatic moment to be a better player and or a better human being.

Satish Shitut

Jai Bharat