AHAM BRAHMASMI

God is a man made hypothesis. With the growth of civilisations over many millennia, most of the unexplainable things were put in the ‘God’ box. None objected  when told, “that’s the way God wanted it”. Initially people saw God in thunder and lightning, then, in reptiles and animals and thereafter in fellow spiritual beings.  

 

Some smart people started introspecting life, the reason and purpose of it. Whatever they understood, they started explaining. They pointed out living as the response to one’s own activities and behaviour. The cause and effect theory, the life response theory, the action reaction theory etc. came to be explained. Those who did the explanations came to be viewed as prophets, seers and spiritual heads. And they taught how to become realised. As time went by centuries, some of these people got placed by the followers into God position. Those who followed such “Gods” came under the group of religion and communities. Postulations propagated by the so called “God” became the law (God’s saying) and followers accepted it without question. The faithfuls went on to blindly believe these postulations as the only truth and those  propagated by others as the ‘wrong ones’. The right and the wrong started getting seen from the prism of the religions that each was part of. 

 

The ‘Gods’ could not sit inactive (if so, what ‘God’?!) so those mighty, representing the God within the community (the priest, clergy, the kings & the rulers) went on taking his name for all sorts of self-made judgements & justifications and had them pronounced  as the Gods’ discretion. Fear, uncertainty, adversity and unknowns were used effectively by these ruthless middlemen to keep the people under control. Poor gullible, vulnerable but hopeful people! 

 

As the civilisations progressed, as the people numbers increased, resource mobilisation started (as homes came into being) and as people became urbanised, the self centered-ness increased and social behaviour such as love, compassion, empathy, helpfulness etc., diminished. 

 

But God went on becoming more active and more powerful through the middlemen leaders and they created the instances of hatred through their pronouncements of the  good and bad. The logic and reasons went to dogs, and selfishness, intolerance, nonacceptance prevailed and fatwas (in all religions) came to be pronounced. 

 

So where is God? 

 

He is in heavens (a place beyond the clouds). It is such a freaky place. Depending upon which faith is followed, the place have dancers, virgins, houris,  angels; all living in eternal bliss, drinking nectar, aided and monitored by the Chitragupt’s & St. Gabriel’s. It became an unseen but hopelessly  hopeful place for the men on earth. Earth came to be viewed as a transit point where one spends some time before reaching eternal abode of heaven ! 

 

However did anyone ever try to find the God while being here? The majority didn’t bother! While lots of people are waiting to reach the heavenly abode to be with God, a few tried to see the God here. As he contemplated the scriptures & philosophies, as he found the inference & insights, as he observed behaviours & actions of others, as he saw the life responses happening to his fellow being;  he understood  the action-reaction and the cause-effect. This realisation gave him peace. And he searched further.....

 

And as he started managing himself, it slowly dawned on to him that his God is within him. It resides inside him and makes him behave with love, compassion, empathy, positivity, altruism, helpfulness and happiness. All these feelings, he realised as nothing but the manifestations of the God within. The more he behaved in this manner, the more Godly he became. His thoughts went into higher planes, he became calm, contented and happy. In his fellow beings he saw God and his respect for them went up manifold and in their collective welfare he rejoiced. And, as he realised the meaning of his existence, he said, “Aham Brahmasmi” and he called out to his fellow beings; “tattvamassi” 

THE CHEMISTRY NOBEL PRIZE - 2020

 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 was awarded jointly to Emmanuelle Charpentier (Institut Pasteur, Paris) and Jennifer A. Doudna (Univ. of California, Berkeley) "for the development of a method for genome editing."

They have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with high precision. This technology will have revolutionary impact on the life sciences, particularly in cancer therapy and of curing inherited diseases.

While the award is for chemistry, it could be viewed from multiple disciplines of science; biology, physics (genetic engineering) & chemistry as there is quiet a bit of overlap of multiple science streams in this discovery 

While Nobel price was bestowed with a positive intent  on the possibility of curing diseases and bringing out disease free humans), definitely there is a negative side, the misuse of this technology, something that the world started worrying from the time Watson and Crick discovered the human genetic code. 

Lastly the Nobel prize recognition is a sweet revenge for Charpentier & Doudna, though they did the discovery, the patent of this genetic technology is held by someone else and that we call the ‘game of science’

WHY ‘QUAD’ IS IMPORTANT TO INDIA

QUAD started in 2007 as a security dialogue between 4 nations; US, Australia, Japan & India. Its focus was on South China seas, where Indian Ocean meets the Pacific Ocean, the waters where China always showed its aggression. The QUAD initiative was the brainchild of the them Japanese Prime Minister, to be a counter to the Chinese aggression. Due to geopolitics, this initiative went dormant by very next year. 

Post cold-war era, unbeknown to many, China was building up as a global super power (including military). 25 years later, with autocratic Xi Jinping at the top, its aggressive expansionist capabilities have come out in open. 

Having seen, what was feared had happened, the dialogue got rejuvenated in 2018 & it again became an active endeavour between the 4 nations to protect the nations (and ally’s) on the brim of South China Seas, 

Later to 2015, India tried to cosy up to China and its top leaders have had many public shows of the the ‘second honeymoon’ (first was between Nehru & Zouh Enlai in 1950s) but all that had ended now with the fiasco at Galwan, Ladakh.

An active QUAD is a strong deterrent to Chinese expansionist ambitions. The oceans had always been a focal point, both in peace & war; and jointly balancing them, can take care of any aggression. 

It is time, India went into QUAD in full hog.

THE FARMER’S BILL

Lot had been written about it now. And agitations abound, across the nation. If it was a simple matter to oppose, the noises would have died down by now. But, why is the fight spreading and why the highest of courts is approached against its implementation? 

Touted as the mother of all reforms in agriculture, it is supposed to be LPG of agricultural economy. Funnily this is exactly what both the BJP and the Congress promised in its election manifesto, in 2019. So why should it be viewed so negatively by Indian farmers, and that forced Akali Dal to come out of the ruling NDA alliance?

First, of course, is the resistance to change. And the fear, uncertainties and doubts about the bill’s proper implementation. The well rooted APMC system in the big agriculture states like Punjab, Haryana, UP and MP Is made redundant now with the bills. These states, who used to collect mandi taxes to the tune of 3-5000 crores per annum that enabled them to give free electricity and water to the farmers, are losing it (and if that happens, there would start another huge agitation). And above all, agriculture is considered as a concurrent subject in our constitution, of the federal structure of the country, is now taken over by the centre! So, there is politics in it too. 

Middlemen, mandi & state aside, farmers truly worry that the centre is taking away the minimum selling price protection and feel that a liberated market for agricultural produces will be taken over by the corporates who will push down the prices, bringing financial troubles to farmers.

There are exponents speaking in favour of both sides. So, it is very difficult to arrive at what will happen post its implementation. But if demonetisation of currency by the government is any indication, then there is some reason behind the  farmers worrying.  

DEAD HATHRAS GIRL SPEAKS

Is born dalit my sin? 

It is my parents who willed

I dreamt to be rich 

And a life, having no end !

No poverty, I asked for 

I wanted a good life 

Folks said, ‘go cut the grass’,

Feeding cattle, for us to live

Four men attacked me at work

Bullies, men of upper cast 

Wanting fun and sex at my cost

Chastity, dignity and life, I lost

None bothered, my story gave 

High TV channel rating

All the noise will die down 

Fearing the power’s onslaught 

I know fully well now, the

Country seeks no daughters,

Yes, no dirty dalits too!

Both dispensable, easily, anytime! 

Dead I am now, killed

By men’s brute powers 

And burnt alone by night

Why do I get treated thus?